Scelta Mushrooms opens R&D facility, but mushrooms aren't only thing going.

It's not just for mushrooms. The Scelta Institute, which opened March 19 in Venlo, the Netherlands, will also conduct research and development for tomatoes, strawberries and asparagus.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Since its establishment in 1993, Scelta Mushrooms (scelta is the Italian word for "choice") has become a leader in frozen mushrooms, with production facilities in the Netherlands, France, Denmark, Luxembourg and Indonesia.

Markets include foodservice, national and international hypermarket chains, and industrial further processors.

Scelta's mushrooms are used on pizzas, in soups, ready meals and other products. Among the company's industrial customers are Nestle, Unilever and Campbell.

The Scelta Institute includes a laboratory, professional restaurant kitchen, and demonstration area. These and other facilities support the sales and marketing team of Scelta Mushrooms, which has its headquarters at the Institute. The facility is also a business meeting point, and a place for educational, culinary and cultural events.

Jan Klerken, founder and managing director of Scelta, hosted the event. Alexander Bakker, whose book Just a Mushroom will be published this summer, was on hand to talk about it.

For more information about the Institute, visit www.sceltamushrooms.com; or contact Ellen Vliegen by phoning +31 077-3241020, +31 6-22456634, or e-mailing her at ellenvliegen@sceltamushrooms.com.