Nammex, a North American supplier of certified organic functional mushroom extracts, was honored by the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) with the AHPA Herbal Industry Leadership Award at its annual member meeting on March 4, in Anaheim, CA. The award recognizes a company that sets an example of outstanding business practices or an organization that works to move the industry forward above and beyond normal business practices.

In a statement about the award AHPA wrote: “Since 1989, Nammex has pioneered the development and manufacture of mushroom extracts for the health and wellness industry. Through its commitment to quality and transparency championed by founder Jeff Chilton, Nammex has led the way in advocating for best practices in producing, labeling, and marketing mushroom products, which supports all companies in this growing category. Nammex is now run by Jeff’s sons Skye and Adam and industry veteran Bill Chioffi.

“For decades, Nammex has been a trailblazer in the development and manufacture of mushroom extracts for the health and wellness industry,” said Amber Bennett, vice president of marketing and engagement at AHPA. “Their commitment to producing high quality mushroom products and advancing industry standards benefits both the fungi industry and the wider natural products community. We are honored to recognize Nammex for their dedication and leadership.”

Nammex is committed to truth-in-labeling and ensuring that all ingredients in dietary supplements are accurately listed and declared on labels. Efforts include ongoing industry education and advocacy, involvement in trade groups, and calling for action by regulatory agencies. To obtain data on consumer understanding of this issue, Nammex commissioned a study on what consumers think when they read the word “mushroom”: a survey of 10,000 consumers found that people think of mushrooms as the fungal part commonly eaten as food, and the majority do not know what mycelium is. More recently, Nammex made its internal fit-for-purpose, validated HPTLC test method for identification and quality control of functional mushrooms freely available to the industry.

“It’s a great honor to receive this award from AHPA and to be recognized by our peers. This is a concerted effort by the entire Nammex team to carry our vision forward,” said Skye Chilton. “We pride ourselves on setting the industry standards for the fungi products category and truly appreciate the supportive role that AHPA has served in our quality assurance initiatives.”