ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION Mushrooms are a popular food product in the Western world (1). The cultivation of edible mushrooms is now one of the most intensive fermentation processes practiced throughout the world to produce food for human consumption. Mushrooms are highly palatable and add flavor and variety to an otherwise monotonous diet. Among the cultivated mushrooms, Agaricus bisporus is the most important (Table 1). The world production of mushrooms in 1993 was 1.1 million metric tons. The United States, France, England, and The Netherlands are the major producers of mushrooms.
