Highline says mushrooms are versatile and can be enjoyed fresh, in salads, sautéed, fried or as an ingredient to enrich sauces and entrees.

Not only are mushrooms virtually free of fat, a good source of fiber and free of cholesterol and carbohydrates, research also shows they are a good source of antioxidants and have properties that boost the immune system, according to Mushrooms Canada, a non-profit organization dedicated to the production of fresh mushrooms. The organization also notes that one portabella mushroom has more potassium than a banana. Having been in the industry since 1961, Highline Mushrooms says it is dedicated to ensuring consumers “taste nothing but the wholesome goodness” of fresh mushrooms.

“[Highline] is a proactive, innovative, resourceful, hands-on company, dedicated to aggressively pursuing excellence,” the company says. “Highline manages from the ground up, associates are encouraged to participate in decision making, and it strives to consistently grow quality products, delivered on a timely basis, in a cordial manner and at very competitive prices.”

Although it started as a modest operation, Highline says it has grown to become one of the largest independent growers of mushrooms in Canada and is “certainly the most technically advanced.” All of its agaricus (white), crimini, portabella, shitake, pleurotus (oyster) and enoki varieties of mushrooms, the company explains, are prepared in modern, computer-controlled chambers and all production is “cold-chain committed” from harvest to delivery.

Highline explains the cold chain is when the mushrooms are kept between 33 and 38 F from the company’s operations to stores. The combination of the company’s high cultivation standards and maintaining the cold chain, it says, are two of its most important marketing considerations.       

Harvesting begins each morning at 6:30, when all product is immediately vacuum-cooled and maintained in climate-controlled cold storage until shipped that day or early the next morning. Highline says its mushrooms are always transported in climate-controlled trucks and grown without pesticides. Additionally, the company explains, its mushrooms are always individually picked and packaged, which results in less bruising and more consistent grading.

"We’ve pioneered a number of new mushroom-growing techniques over the decades,” the company says. “Among other things, we’ve perfected a method for growing mushrooms without the addition of any pesticides or preservatives.”

The company explains its innovative techniques include bulk-aerated substrate (compost) preparation, which is faster, cheaper and more consistent than other practices; bulk handling of all phases of pre-crop substrate including pasteurizing and seeding; acceleration of the cropping cycle so that 13 crops per year are grown in each chamber, although the rest of the industry traditionally only has the capacity for eight crops.

“This has resulted in the avoidance of any pesticides whatsoever during the growing cycle – an unexpected plus which flows from the speed the crops are cycled,” the company says. “This accelerated process also results in better quality generally. Highline has always been innovative and has pioneered many techniques over the years, ever striving to achieve our slogan of ‘first we will be best, then we will be first.’”

A Mushroom Pioneer
Highline Mushrooms explains that in late June, it lost its founder and chairman, Dr. Murray Roy O’Neil. Born in 1927, O’Neil’s first career was in family medicine, specializing in allergy and immunology. The company says he built the largest private allergy and respirology partnership of its kind in Ontario, as well as chairing a number of well-respected medical societies.

Having a strong love of the land since his childhood, the company says, in 1961, O’Neil founded Highline Produce. The company explains he was known internationally as a father of the industry, and, as in his first career, held many positions of leadership. He grew Highline to one of the largest mushroom-growing facilities in Canada, employing close to 800 people at its Leamington, Ontario; Wellington, Ontario; and Montreal, Quebec, locations.