Package Labelling: Read All About It

Package labelling provides country of sale required information, nutritional values, daily servings, certification identifiers, mushroom traceability linking, contact of company – in a stylin’ presentation.

Package Labelling

Legal · Ingredients · Nutritional · Certifications · Transparency

Package Labelling Overview

Package labelling conveys information about nutrition, ingredients, quantity, certifications, trademarks, country of origin, date markings, and place of business. The country of sale sets the label’s legal requirements. Pure Mushroom Initiative transparency standards add links to Traceability, Certificate of Analysis and Client Rights.

 

Identified On Label (IOL)

This site makes use of the term Identified On Label or IOL. This means exactly what it says; this information must be clearly identified on the product labelling.

 

Label Legals

Each country has legal essentials for package labelling. The country of sale will enforce such information as the listing of ingredients, required declaration of certain vitamins and minerals, fats, intrinsic and added sugars: Serving sizes, number of servings per package and calories: Languages, date markings, country of origin and company information, label format and typography. Legal essentials standardize labels to some extent, creating a starting point for clients to compare products.

 

Label: Ingredients

All ingredients must be listed on the label and in descending ;order of predominance by weight. A product may be promoted as many things but the truth lies in the ingredient list. Pure MI standards call for medicinal mushroom products with no additives, no extraneous substrate ingredients and pure single-species products (no combining of different mushrooms as one product package).

 

Labelling: Nutritional

Each country of sale’s legal requirements addresses labelling of nutritional values. In addition to the mandatory vitamins and minerals medicinal mushrooms have their own unique compounds. Specific primary medicinal compounds must be made clear on the label. For example listing polysaccharides or glucans is too general: the important ß-glucan polysaccharide must be specifically listed. Access to verified COA of each purchase must be provided to clients without them having to request it. Learn about the primary medicinal mushroom compounds that must be IOL.

 

Labelling: Certifications

Certification symbols have become an easy way for consumers to qualify products but these symbols are only as valuable as their corresponding certifying organizations. High standards and worldwide collaboration are on record for certified organic. Other certifications may not be so well developed or have competing organizations – fair trade, vegan, kosher to name a few. Certifiers are businesses and their credentials must be reviewed and not taken at face-value. Flashy symbols must be backed-up with integrity.

 

Labelling: Traceability

Traceability of product conventionally means tracking a product from point of origin to point of sale. Pure MI extends that definition for each medicinal mushroom product package to also include client access to the corresponding Certificate of Analysis (COA) reports that specify exact amounts of nutritional values and Certified Organic / Metals records. Clients must be freely provided access to this information upon purchase and not have to request it after the fact.