Mushrooms are one of the most popular fresh produce items with over 1.5 billion portions of them sold each year in the UK. However, conventional mushroom crop production currently relies on the use of peat, a precious carbon-rich natural resource that takes thousands of years to grow in wetland ecosystems.
Following a decade of research and development, Sainsbury’s has become the first UK supermarket to launch conventional mushrooms that have been grown without peat.
This significant change to the growth process reduces the carbon intensity of mushroom production, leaving peat in the ground, which will help protect nature and get the retailer get one step closer to its net zero goals.
Richard Crampton, Director of Fresh Food at Sainsbury’s, said, “At Sainsbury’s, we’re committed to playing our part in enabling and driving a resilient and sustainable food system, including protecting nature and reducing carbon to net zero. Our new peat-free mushrooms will help us to get another step closer to achieving these goals in our supply chain.
“We’re proud to be the first supermarket in the UK to bring peat-free mushrooms to our customers, who want easy ways to make more responsible choices when buying food, without compromising on quality. This wouldn’t have been possible without the work of our partner Monaghan who spent 10 years coming up with the alternative.”
From this month, customers will be able to spot ‘Grown without Peat’ on Sainsbury’s own-brand mushroom packaging in 200+ Sainsbury’s stores across the country. Peat-free mushrooms will be first available in the White Closed Cup 300g and White Baby Button 200g variants.
Mushrooms are typically grown in two layers of material – first a layer of natural compost and then a layer of peat, the latter playing a key role in the yield and quality of the mushrooms, making it very difficult to replace. Instead of using peat, Sainsbury’s new mushrooms are grown with an innovative sustainable substrate made from recycled natural materials. Developed in partnership with long-term mushroom supplier Monaghan, the retailer believes this new process will remove 20,465 tonnes of peat from mushroom production per year.
Extracting peat to help grow products such as mushrooms is contributing to climate change and the destruction of wetland ecosystems, as carbon emissions are released during harvest and the peatlands can take decades, if not centuries, to recover. Peatlands also provide critical habitats for many rare, threatened or declining animal and plant species, while having a significant ability to retain water, and to improve both soil and water quality.
Noel Hegarty, Chief Commercial Officer at Monaghan, said, “At Monaghan, we are committed to lowering our climate impact across every facet of our operations. Although mushrooms already have a low carbon footprint in comparison to other foods, we want to take this further with our journey to net zero. Peat-free mushrooms are a huge step forward with that ambition.”
Karl Mitchell, Director of Fundraising at The Woodland Trust, said, “We’re absolutely delighted to hear that Sainsbury’s is introducing peat-free mushrooms as part of its core range. This is a significant step towards protecting our peatlands, which are vital for biodiversity and climate resilience. Peatland restoration is an important part of our work at the Woodland Trust, and our 20-year partnership with Sainsbury’s has been instrumental in making a positive impact on our sites. This latest announcement demonstrates a shared commitment to a sustainable future.”
Sainsbury’s has committed to becoming net zero across its own operations by 2035, and supply chain by 2050.