The graduates are being sought from a wide range of disciplines, from engineering, science, business, marketing, environmental sciences, agricultural and horticultural disciplines. Trainee manager positions in harvesting, growing and compost are available as well as a number of positions in logistics, marketing, supply chain, renewable engineering and analyst roles.

In addition to their work in the company the new graduates will participate in an industry leading training programme designed by the Monaghan Mushrooms in conjunction with the Irish Management Institute.

The closing date for applications is Monday 26th March. To find out more about the graduate programme please log onto MM Graduates or click on ‘Graduates’ on the menu bar at the top of the page.

Wong Ka-hing, associate director of the university’s Food Safety and Technology Research Centre was able to prepare “highly stable” selenium nanoparticles using a polysaccharide protein complex extracted from this variety of mushroom.
The article said that ‘a preliminary study found these nanoparticles may significantly inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells by apoptosis – or activating the biological signalling that makes a cell kill itself.’

It follows research from Dr. Shiuan Chen of the City of Hope Cancer Centre in Los Angeles who discovered that fresh mushrooms may have anti-tumour properties. Mushrooms contain Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) which suppresses a natural substance in the body called aromatase. By blocking aromatase, physicians can reduce the levels of circulating estrogen in post-menopausal women. That is important because, according to the Canadian Cancer Society, high levels of estrogen are associated with a higher risk of breast cancer.

Monaghan Mushrooms Group Marketing Manager Stephen Allen said, ‘This is not evidence that mushrooms can help prevent or treat cancer but is another piece of evidence to add to the growing body of work that indicates the potential health benefits of mushrooms.’

Walkro is one of the largest producers of mushroom substrate in Europe. The company was set up in the beginning of the nineties. Today it has sites in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany where substrate is produced for mushroom cultivators in Europe and Asia. Walkro is the largest producer of substrate for the mushroom industry in the region.

Monaghan Mushrooms was established in Ireland in 1981 and grew into one of the world’s leading mushroom producers supplying a full range of fresh mushrooms to leading national and international retailers in the UK, Ireland, Canada and the United States. The company is active in the production of mushroom substrate, cultivation and packaging of fresh mushrooms.

Walkro will continue to be run as an independent entity within the Monaghan group. Together with its new shareholders, Walkro’s management will continue to execute the company’s successful strategy and further strengthen its position as the leading supplier of substrate for the cultivation of mushrooms in the region.

The assets and contracts of Sussex Mushrooms, which has operated the West Sussex-based business since 2006, have been transferred to a new company- Thakeham Mushrooms Limited- owned by Monaghan Mushrooms. The new company will continue to trade as Sussex Mushrooms.

With headquarters in the Republic of Ireland, Monaghan Mushrooms already employs more than 1000 people at mushroom growing facilities around the UK.

“This is the start of a new chapter in the long history of mushroom growing at Thakeham,” said Ronnie Wilson, Chairman and Chief Executive of Monaghan Mushrooms. “Thakeham is attractive to us because of its strategic location in the south-east. Monaghan has a strong track record of successfully growing businesses and is committed to the long term future of Sussex Mushrooms at Thakeham, delivering future growth, expansion and new jobs.”

Mr Wilson went on to add, “The mushroom industry in the UK is extremely competitive. The Thakeham site has not had any significant investment for more than a quarter of a Century and now requires major investment to bring it up to 21st Century standards to ensure its long term survival. The capital injection from the new homes development is essential to kick start further investment and to deliver the vision set out by Sussex Mushrooms to create a state-of-the-art mushroom growing facility. We anticipate some job losses in the near term however we will increase employment at the site as production increases.”

Save the Children aims to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic opportunities, as well as providing emergency aid in natural disasters, war, and other conflicts in over 120 countries across the world.

Aaron Hanthorn speaking on behalf of the team said,
‘We are a small group of people who all work at Monaghan Mushrooms. Over the past year or so a bunch of us have decided to buy bikes and get going. We are all just amateurs but we have decided to set ourselves a goal and try to raise some money for a good charity’

Paula Doyle added,
‘There are many children in this country and across the world who are being denied their basic human rights, ‘Save the Children’ needs all the help it can get to ensure that these children are taken care of. We would ask that if people want to and are able to donate they can. No amount is too small, just give what you can’
You can see more photos and videos of the team in training on their sponsorship page:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/mmlapthelough2011

The members of the group are: Aaron Hanthorn, Adam Wilson, Blazej Dlubacz, Michael Murdock, Paul Wilson, Paula Doyle, Paul Gregory, Jarlath Colleran, Kenny McElwaine, Denver Smith, Jenna Warby , Konrad Gildea and Trevor Jordan.

Tesco mushroom buyer Simon Mandelbaum said, “Unlike other mushrooms the Forestiere does not seep out its colour when being cooked so by using them in dishes like mushroom risotto they won’t turn out with a tinge of brown.”

Work began in 2006 and three strains were of mushroom were identified as the best possibilities to develop a new variety. Monaghan Mushrooms group marketing manager Stephen Allen said, “We developed the Forestiere mushroom because we wanted to discover a mushroom that offered customers a new taste experience and gave them something new.
“Mushrooms lovers and aficionados had said to us over the years that nothing came close to the taste of a freshly picked field mushroom. When we started the project we set out to discover a new mushroom that had all the taste and flavour of a field mushroom yet at the same time looked familiar, was very versatile and could be used in a wide variety of foods.”

Forestiere mushrooms will be available in 400 Tesco stores across the UK.