If you’ve visited our shop recently, you’ll have noticed that Turkey Tail, Cordyceps, our 7 Blend and the four-bottle Mushroom Bundle are all marked sold out. We wanted to explain why.
The short version
Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) and Cordyceps (Cordyceps militaris) are now treated in the UK as unauthorised “novel foods”. Until that changes, they can’t legally be sold as food supplements, so we’ve stopped selling them and everything that contains them.
What is a novel food?
UK food law treats anything that wasn’t eaten to a significant degree in the UK or EU before 15 May 1997 as a novel food. Before a novel food can be sold, it needs a safety assessment and authorisation from the Food Standards Agency. The rule applies to food supplements as well as ordinary food.
It’s important to say what this isn’t. The classification is about history of consumption, not a finding that these mushrooms are harmful.
We’re not alone
Many UK mushroom businesses have withdrawn the same products, and some are campaigning to have the decision reviewed. We’ll keep an eye on how things develop.
What’s still available
Our Lion’s Mane and Reishi tinctures are made from the fruiting body and are not affected. Both are available, including together in the Day & Night bundle.
If Turkey Tail or Cordyceps are authorised in future, we’ll bring them back. Follow us on Instagram @avalon_fungi to hear first, or see our novel foods page for the full details.
This is our summary of the rules as we understand them and isn’t legal advice.
