The basis for a “beautiful product” is in the cultivation process. With more than 30 years of experience, Voet Mushrooms understands the craft of growing tasty mushrooms.
It is important that the mushroom is picked at the right time and with great care. Hydraulic lorries are used at this nursery. These automatically go from front to back and from top to bottom. This allows employees to pick the beds five times a day. Because the mushroom grows very quickly, it is possible to pick exactly the right size.
Besides the physical characteristics, the mushroom really deserves the label “beautiful product” when the mushroom is also produced in a socially responsible manner. At this company, a lot of attention is paid to the environment and the employees, so we can truly speak of a “beautiful product”.
Mushroom cultivation requires a specific nutrient medium and precisely tailored climate and air conditions. Accuracy is important. With the right climatic conditions, the seasons of nature are imitated. This is how the growth of the mycelial threads is first set in motion. After this the formation of the fruit bodies (budding) and finally the growth of the fruiting bodies (the mushrooms). A few degrees colder or warmer immediately leads to another result.
Voet Mushrooms has several cultivation supervisors who observe the cultivation spaces three times a day. On the basis of these findings, the climatic conditions are adjusted per growing room. Thanks to this precision, the company is able to grow beautiful, tasty mushrooms.
Voet Mushrooms cares deeply about high quality. With a good quality assurance system, the quality and food safety of the mushrooms is guaranteed. The company complies with all standards set by GLOBAL G.A.P.
Mushrooms are very fragile. They quickly discolour when touched or damaged. At Voet Mushrooms, the mushrooms are picked with the greatest care so that discolouration occurs as little as possible.
The mushroom grows after harvesting. At this nursery the mushrooms are placed directly in the punnets and transported to the refrigeration. With a quick cooler, the mushrooms are cooled down to 2°C within half an hour. This cooling method brings the growth process to a halt and increases the shelf-life of the mushrooms.
A lot of attention is paid to the environment at the company. The air is pre-cooled in the summer and preheated in the winter via a soil pipe ventilation system and a natural pond.
A heat exchanger ensures that the heat released during cooling is reused for heating the cultivation rooms. This saves 50% of gas consumption.
The mushroom cultivation occurs cyclically. There are two harvest weeks per cycle. In the first harvest week, mainly giants and medium-sized mushrooms are harvested. In the second harvest week, in particular the smaller mushrooms are harvested.
Voet mushrooms has 44 cultivation areas. Due to this size, a new cultivation cycle can be started from Monday to Saturday. This creates a nice distribution of the mushrooms. The company can deliver all sorts in large quantities seven days a week.
Like no other, Voet Mushrooms realises that top quality can only be delivered when there is good cooperation with the staff members. Every effort is made to make the employees happy. The employees are directly employed and are paid according to Dutch legislation and regulations. There is also beautiful accommodation for employees.
Due to social policy and good working conditions, the company has achieved the Fair Produce certificate.
Voet Mushrooms provides wonderful accommodation to the employees. We therefore have a SNF certificate for our accommodations. In this way we meet the standard for accommodation of migrant workers.
But Voet Mushrooms goes beyond that. We sincerely want our employees to be satisfied. We have a gym for the employees, for example.
Time never stops at Voet Mushrooms. We are constantly thinking about the future.
Questions we ask ourselves are:
How do we keep our business economically viable?
How can we contribute to the environment?
How can we build a good relationship with the employees?
What are the demands from the market?
Investments are made regularly at the company to give shape to future developments. For example, a packing hall has recently been built, where mushrooms can be packaged.
