February 26/Lab Business Week -- Total Nutraceutical Solutions Inc. signed an agreement with Hokto Kinoko Co. to acquire mushroom spent substrate from the Hokto facility in San Marcos, CA. The 250,000-square-foot growing facility for fresh specialty mushrooms has the potential at full capacity to produce 20-25 tons of spent substrate per day. TNS plans to develop and market this material as an animal feed additive with nutritional value via collaborative research with the Department of Food Science at Pennsylvania State University.

"This agreement propels TNS into the forefront of nutritional supplementation in the human and veterinary markets," stated Marvin S. Hausman MD, CEO, TNS. "Research collaborations between our own scientists and those of the Department of Food Science, Pennsylvania State University, will allow us to identify key bioactive substances within the spent substrate which has the potential to supplement the diets of humans and animals. These bioactive nutrients and enzymes may act as natural potent anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory agents to increase the nutritional value of animal food products. The nutrients may also prevent various diseases that afflict animals in the food chain as well as many humans."

Mushroom substrate waste is defined as the spent substrate (growing media) and all mushroom residuals resulting from cleaning the growing bottles after the harvest of mushroom fruit bodies at the growing facility. The Hokto state-of-the-art facility will produce the following mushrooms: Brown Beech (Buna Shimeji), White Beech (Bunapi), King Trumpet (Pleurotus eryngii) and Maitake.

From the February 16, 2009, Prepared Foods E-dition