Mushroom-focused nutraceutical provider Nammex has highlighted the necessity of analytical verification when labelling fungal-based dietary supplements.
This follows a response from a Inonotus mycelium fermented grain supplier to the company's recent chaga characterisation and testing framework, which is published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.
According to Nammex, this supplier is misrepresenting the facts, and the company is now calling for brands in the functional fungi/mushroom space to test their chaga products and label them accordingly.
Key players in the space have also chimed in on this discourse, with Nordic Mushrooms' CEO Eric Puro and Chagit Proucts' co-founder, Tulsy Ball both stating that chaga and mycelium fermented oats are fundamentally different in bioactive composition and molecular structure.
Nammex's chaga framework
Within the study discussed above, Nammex laid out a multi-analytical framework to identify authentic chaga canker and assess the quality of commercially-sold dietary supplement products.
The report states that high-quality chaga is characterised by:
- High melanin content
- A high prevalence of β-glucan to α-glucan ratio
- Unique triterpenoid and phenolic profile (which mycelium fermented grain lacks)
- Low starch content, unlike mycelium fermented grain, which is high in starch
The framework also discusses the importance of distinguishing wildcrafted chaga canker from Inonotus mycelium fermented grain products and pure mycelium, as they will not offer the same health benefits.
"In the interest of consumer satisfaction and scientific accuracy, sellers of Inonotus mycelium fermented grain need to acknowledge that their products have a different identity to a chaga canker; this should then be reflected in the labelling," noted Nammex's CEO Skye Chilton.
“The functional mushroom market is currently undergoing rapid expansion, so our team has provided clear definitions for fungal ingredients in supplements. We challenge all companies to do the same," he added.
Puro echoes this sentiment, noting that industry members should be "stewards of consumer trust, insisting on clear, evidence-based definitions — particularly in a growing market vulnerable to misrepresentation."
"The natural symbiosis between chaga and birch trees that occurs over many years cannot be achieved in a lab. At KÄÄPÄ Biotech, we take pride in supporting research that promotes transparency and upholds the integrity of our industry, and we invite our peers to join us in adopting these principles," he stated.
Meanwhile, Ball has been working with a network of native chaga harvesters in Alaska for more than 10 years, working to educate the genereal public on the canker's benefits since then.
"There has been a lack of accountability shown by certain lab-cultivation producers in the functional mushroom space, as the myceliated fermented grain products that come from a lab bear no resemblance to chaga conk that grows on birch trees," he noted.
"True chaga only grows on trees of the north in various parts of the world, and the tests that we have been fortunate to participate in prove that case beyond a shadow of doubt," Ball concluded.
