David Collins

The Master of Exotic Mushrooms

David Collins purchased Country Fresh mushrooms from the Arrold family in 1999 after working in the Food Industry as a Food Technologist for over 36 years. He has extensive experience with companies such as Edgell Birdseye, Goodman Fielder, Uncle Tobys, Woolworths, Reckitt and Coleman, All States Food Service and Moratis Group.
David has a Science Degree with majors in Chemistry and Microbiology together with post graduate studies in Food Technology and Food Analysis. Whilst at University David became fascinated by fungi under the microscope….it was  an amazing world that had to be seen to be believed.
His father Bill Collins was taught by Professor Reuter the father of Food Technology in Australia.  In those days Bill worked for Wally Magwick in the NSW Health Department testing  sausages for sulphur dioxide and did early forensics testing for heavy metal poisoning.
Many early food Technologists were Chemist or Industrial Chemists that grew up within the industry.
In 1964 David worked for Dr Scalia at Uncle Tobys, Lane Cove assisting him with developing the first modified waxy maize starch in Australia
It wasn’t until the early 70’s that frozen food containers were introduced.   At the time David was working with Edgell Birdseye as the QA Manager and monitored the first successful trial shipment of Birdseye Fish Fingers from the UK into Australia. As part of the testing regime every consignment was sampled for compliance and the following shipment, when evaluated by David, was found to be contaminated with styrene monomer because the containers had not been correctly cured. This resulted in a massive insurance claim.
Of the 50 years in the Food Industry 35 years have been in the Fruit & Vegetables Industry. Fresh Fruit and Vegetable have become his passion and more recently David set out to become The Master of Exotic Mushrooms after discovering the remarkable nutritional and medicinal health benefits of Exotic Mushrooms.

 

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