I see there was an earlier post on here about these Sainsbury's mushrooms, which are promoted as 'enriched' with b12. I picked them up today, and asked the manager to explain how this was so. He said, they are 'enriched' with synthetic b12 produced in a laboratory; as to how this is applied to the mushroom, he could not explain. He says they are definitely vegan, so no animal product is used. Anybody know what synthetic b12 is, and is it just as good as the real thing?
When I search for James O'Brien mushrooms online, there's nothing.
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Buckbeak
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'Synthetic' B12 is the stuff you get in all of the pills, lozenges, sprays, injections, patches, etc. It is also the same stuff that you get in breakfast cereals, Marmite, etc. It is all brewed in the same vats by the same bacteria.
Thanks for your recent email about our super mushrooms.
Unfortunately I am unable to give this information as I don't have any access to it, I can see on the website it says to wash before use so I would believe you can wash of the B12. I'm sorry i can't help you further with this.
We appreciate you taking the time to contact us and we hope to see you in store again soon.
Kind regards,
Christina | Sainsbury's Careline
Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd | 33 Holborn, London | EC1N 2HT
Is there nobody at Sainsbury’s who can answer my questions? If not, the claims you are making don’t seem to be possible to substantiate. One might conclude that they are misleading. If the b12 can be washed off, and the mushrooms need to be washed, in what way can they be considered ‘fortified’?
Please pass my queries onto somebody who can answer them.
Due to corporate policy we're unable to supply information that is not readily available on the website.
Thanks again for getting in touch.
Kind regards,
Gordon | Sainsbury's Careline
I'm disinclined to leave it there. I know it makes no difference to people who are clued up about vitamin B12, but for the people they are targeting this product at (elderly etc) it's simply dishonest if they can't explain anything at all about the product.
Yes it's nonsense. It's one of their own brand products. They're not even telling me there's some confidentiality or whatever about their new 'super' product, just that they don't have the info! Will persist.
Thank you for your reply, but this is unsatisfactory. I would now like to make a formal complaint, which I intend to pass on to Trading Standards.
The law says “You must describe your product accurately. This means if you make a claim about your product, you must be able to prove what you say.” gov.uk/marketing-advertisin...
Vitamin B12 deficiency is a very serious condition. If you cannot substantiate the claims you make for your product, for which you charge a premium, you should withdraw them.
Last response from Sainsbury's, after the complaint was moved up the chain:
Please can you tell me the following: What precise form of synthetic b12 has been added? How is it applied?
What quantities are applied?
The growers boost the level of vitamin B12 in the substrate using certified non-animal derived, GMO free and food grade vitamin B12.
Is it removed on washing?
No
What is the effect of cooking on the synthetic b12?
The Vitamin B12 levels stated on pack reflect the levels found in the mushrooms post-cooking (pan-frying).
The press release on this product from last year suggests one third of a pack will provide 100% of vitamin b12 RDA.
How has this been calculated?
The nutrient reference value (NRV) of Vitamin B12 is 2.5 µg . 100g provides 2.5 µg therefore, 100g provides 100% of the Vitamin B12 Reference Intake. The White Super Mushrooms are in a 300g pack so 1/3 of the pack is 100g which provides 100% of the Vitamin B12 NRV.
Our trading team have also advised that we cannot answer the exact vitamin B12 source, application method or quantities applied as this information is confidential.
HIGH [NAME OF VITAMIN/S] AND/OR [NAME OF MINERAL/S]
A claim that a food is high in vitamins and/or minerals, and any claim likely to have the same meaning for the consumer, may only be made where the product contains at least twice the value of ‘source of [NAME OF VITAMIN/S] and/or [NAME OF MINERAL/S]’.
The EU seems to say that Adequate Intake of B12 is 4 micrograms.
Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) derived Dietary Reference Values (DRVs) for cobalamin (vitamin B12). The Panel considers that the approach based on a combination of biomarkers of cobalamin status, i.e. serum cobalamin, holotranscobalamin (holoTC), methylmalonic acid (MMA) and plasma total homocysteine (tHcy), is the most suitable approach to derive DRVs for cobalamin. The Panel notes the uncertainties with respect to cut-off values for cobalamin insufficiency of these indicators and that an Average Requirement (AR) cannot be determined from the limited data available. There is consistent evidence in adults that a cobalamin intake of 4 μg/day and greater is associated with serum concentrations of holoTC and cobalamin within the reference ranges derived from healthy subjects, together with MMA and tHcy concentrations below the cut-off values for adults, which indicates an adequate cobalamin status. Therefore, the Panel sets an Adequate Intake (AI) for cobalamin at 4 μg/day for adults based on data on different biomarkers of cobalamin status and in consideration of observed mean intakes, which range between 4.2 and 8.6 μg/day in adults in several EU countries. AIs for infants and children are calculated by extrapolation from the AI for adults using allometric scaling and applying a growth factor. Estimated AIs range from 1.5 μg/day in infants aged 7–11 months to 4 μg/day in children aged 15–17 years. For pregnancy and lactation, additional cobalamin intakes related to the accumulation of cobalamin in fetal tissues and transfer of cobalamin into breast milk are considered and AIs of 4.5 and 5 μg/day, respectively, are proposed.
Also, the food content of nutrients can be different to the amount that can be absorbed. Is there any information of how much of the B12 in mushrooms can be absorbed in a healthy human gut?
Interesting reading. In my opinion the claim is somewhat tenuous and I wouldn't be buying them for these supposed 'benefits'. But I'll put the NRV question back to them - doesn't hurt to keep them on their toes!
Well, Buckbeak it seems to me that I am very late in posting this photo of Sainsbury’s Mushrooms and that you and your respondents have throughly aired the question, so I think it is time for me to retire from the fray. It is dispiriting the sort of nonsense you get when you contact companies about their products, I went through a similar process querying a product that purported to contained Blueberries but what actually cranberries which my husband was not allowed to consume. Even Trading Standards came back with a very ‘woolly’ answer. Many thanks for all your efforts.
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