Costa Mushrooms
Richard Bell - Technical Director
Costa Mushrooms started as a single fruit shop opened by two brothers in 1937. As the years passed, they have evolved into a growing and wholesaling enterprise that now produces many innovative varieties of cultivated mushrooms.
Growing up, Richard Bell loved wildlife and particularly enjoyed propagating plants and breeding fish. Today as Technical Manager of Costa, in Victoria.
Richard is unsure what he'd be doing if he wasn't growing fresh produce. "Maybe a very slow builder" he replied. And when asked if there were any other products he wants to grow someday, he said "hair"!
That may sound over ambitious, but this curiosity to seek new and improved ways to grow has seen Costa become Australia's largest private producer, marketer and exporter of premium quality fresh fruit and vegetables.
Costa do everything from spawning to growing, right through to distribution, which gives them complete control. Currently they have farms at Casuarina in WA, Monarto in SA, Glen Aplin and North MacLean in QLD, Mittagong in NSW, Mernda in VIC, and Huon Valley and Spreyton in TAS. As well as mushrooms, core produce categories include avocados, bananas, berries, citrus, table grapes and truss tomatoes.
"When I joined the farm it was driven with a passion to produce and deliver fresh quality produce to Australian people every day. Costa people continue to drive with this same passion." ‐ Richard Bell
For Richard, however, the biggest challenge he faces is constantly transforming tiny pieces of mushroom spawn (seed) into hundreds of tonnes of fresh, healthy mushrooms. As they're a notoriously precious vegetable, they're grown in sheds to provide protection from heat, wind, sun and rain.
The first step is creating the growing compost. Each week several hundred tonnes of wheat straw and agriculture waste is composted, before being heat-treated to remove any undesirable pests. The compost is then kept at ideal conditions to continue composting. After another week, the chosen variety of mushroom spawn is added and a layer of peat is placed on top.
After being left to grow for 16 days, the mushrooms are handpicked, placed directly into punnets and kept cool by industrial refrigeration before being distributed the same day. To reduce waste, the spent compost is then heat treated and sold as a soil conditioner. And as this cycle takes place 24/7, 365 days of the year, fresh mushrooms are available all year round.
In ideal conditions, the time taken from picking to being delivered into a Woolworths Distribution Centre can be as short as 6 hours. Incredibly, this means that the fresh mushrooms on Woolies shelves could have been in the ground less than 24 hours previously.
Costa has been supplying Woolworths with mushrooms for over 20 years, and pre-packed varieties for the past 6 years. Varieties include traditional White and Brown mushrooms, plus more exotic types like Oyster, Shiitake and Shimeji.
When choosing mushrooms, they should be firm to the touch with a uniform colour and slightly shiny surface. They can be stored in a brown paper bag on the bottom shelf of your fridge for up to a week.
"Mushrooms have a delightful savoury flavour that will enhance any dish." ‐ Richard Bell
As there's plenty of goodness in the skin, there's no need to peel them. To remove any dirt, simply wipe them gently with a damp cloth or soft brush and trim the stem. And don't soak them in water, as this will make them mushy when cooked. While they're great on their own, mushrooms are also a tasty ingredient to add to a recipe.