Organic mushrooms satisfy consumers’ desire for great value and quality, according to Giorgio Fresh. The company, a leading grower and shipper of fresh mushrooms, headquartered in Temple, PA, became a certified organic grower on March 11, 2004.

Bill Litvin, regional sales and national account manager, said the company is certified organic by Pennsylvania Certified Organic. “Giorgio is one of the largest domestic growers of organic mushrooms,” said Litvin. “We offer a wide range of organic mushrooms, including white whole, white sliced, baby bella, portabella caps, sliced portabella and shiitake.”

Litvin noted that consumers are always looking for great value and quality, and organic mushrooms are a natural fit.

“The more consumers become educated on the benefits of organic mushrooms and the variety of ways they can be incorporated into meal planning, the more likely they are to use them,” he said. “To help consumers, Giorgio provides mushroom recipes for every taste and season at www.giorgiofoods.com.”

Giorgio Fresh’s organic mushrooms are produced at its farms in Berks County, PA. The company services retailers, wholesalers, foodservice operations and industrial customers. It distributes from Maine to Florida, and as far west as Iowa, Minnesota and Montana. The company also has a joint venture in Mexico that ships mushrooms into Texas.

Litvin said that Giorgio’s organic sales are increasing at double-digit rates. “Based on our sales increase, organic sales have not been [affected] by the recession. Our organic sales are continuing to increase,” he said.

In October 2012, Giorgio Fresh Co. announced that it had transitioned the Modern Mushroom fresh mushroom business into the Giorgio family of brands. Under the agreement, Giorgio is managing Modern’s packing facility in Chester County, PA, and purchasing the mushrooms from Modern’s growing operations. The Modern sales and customer service teams became a part of the Giorgio team. Both the “Modern Farms” and “Green Giant Fresh” brands continue to be in the market.

The locally grown movement, Litvin believes, continues to see sustainability trends.

“Consumers continue to want to know where their products have come from,” he said. “They also show interest in knowing what companies that produce their food are doing to reduce their footprint when delivering the produce to their local stores. As long as savvy consumers continue to educate themselves on the origin of their product, companies will strive to fix their strategies and operations to offer sustainable solutions for their products.”

Giorgio offers its organic mushrooms in bulk and in overwrap for retail sales. Also for retail it offers eight-ounce whole white organic mushrooms, eight-ounce organic sliced white mushrooms and eight-ounce organic whole Baby Bella mushrooms. Its organic line also includes a six-ounce package of organic Portobella caps, a six-ounce package of organic sliced Portabella caps and a 3.5-ounce package of organic Shiitake mushrooms.