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Here are the remainder of the responses I received to the question as to whether mushrooms can be considered gluten free:

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You’ve asked a question that has been tossed around for quite awhile. Oh for the time when mushrooms were grown on decaying logs.  Besides the millet or rye seeds, etc. brown rice may be used as a growing bed. Some mushrooms are grown in hanging bags and others grow in flat beds. At this time there has been no research to determine if this growing environment is or is not a health risk to those with celiac disease.
 
The Celiac Sprue Association is working to encourage growers to include on the produce product barcode, a number to designate a gluten source growing environment or not. This remains in process. Some chefs do request mushrooms grown on specific beddings for use in their restaurants.  In the meantime we are on our own to use our best inspection and judgment methods for each situation in choosing to eat or not to eat the mushrooms.
 
Mary Schluckebier
Executive Director | Celiac Sprue Association 
1941 S 42nd Street | Suite 522 | Omaha, NE 68105
Toll Free 877-CSA-4-CSA (1-877-272-4272)   Ext 1006| Fax: 402-643-4108
Cell 402-672-4892 | [log in to unmask] | www.csaceliacs.org

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A mushroom is a separate entity, a fungus that draws nutrients from what is grown on and creates it's own components . In comparison would you be concerned about lettuce that was fertilized with compost made in part from wheat straw. Or, would you be concerned about beef from a cow that was fed wheat. In both cases, no. A mushroom is much the same.

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No offense meant, but you're overthinking things. You're very sensitive but you
don't react to mushrooms. No celiac expert in the world thinks mushrooms are a
gluten threat, as evidenced by the fact that neither you nor I nor anybody else
has ever seen mushrooms on an unsafe list. That would be enough for me right
there. In addition, mushroom spores attaching to rye or barley seeds would not
just magically suck the gluten properties from those seeds. They become
mushrooms, not rye or barley and mushrooms are by their nature GF. Nor would
growing mushrooms suck the properties of gluten from mulch. And later on they
are washed.

Mushrooms are safe.

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There are a lot of mushroom farms and therefore mushrooms grown out in the valley where my sister lives.  She is a biologist and says you are missing the step where the peat moss which is gluten free, is laid on top of the compost or growing medium that you talked about, which often contains more corn products and nutritional components than straw or gluten containing products.  The peat moss causes a barrier between the two items – growing medium and the mushrooms. The compost, once it is sterilized at a high heat (she said the buildings are made for specialized heat control), that after the compost has had the “seeds” or spawn which she called it (which I thought was a term related to the salmon runs but I guess not!) are the spores inserted into seeds have been put into the growing medium and grown for a while at heat/humidity then the peat moss is put on top and then the mushrooms grow through the peat and are then harvested a while later.  Mushrooms have roots and you do not get those roots in what you buy – you just get a mushroom from the peat moss up.  The compost has lots of stuff in it like nutrients and she said the probability of gluten exposure is very minimal based on what she has seen at the farms and through what she learned during her degree.  Here is a link that talks about mushroom farming.  I would not think it varies between Canada and the US however you never know!
 
http://mushroominfo.com/growing-mushrooms/
 
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Straw is the stem of the wheat plant so it does not contain the wheat that infects people with celiac.  Sure, the straw could be contaminated but it doesn't contaminate the soil.  The mushrooms do not absorb wheat. Just as corn can be grown in a field that once grew wheat and the corn does not get contaminated.  It is usually the harvesting process we have to worry about the most.

Think of it like milk. Cows can eat wheat, rye, or barley and it does not get absorbed into the milk.  The same type of process happens with soil.

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I would love to know the whys & wherefores of just how they grow mushrooms.  I do know that a common medium for growing mushrooms is chicken poop compost.  LOL, one of the reasons why you don’t ever want to eat raw mushrooms without cooking them.  No, I don’t wash them before – I live in Houston area, there is a mushroom farm close by, they come to me very clean, already rinsed at the plant.  I check them over well and wipe with a paper towel if I have to, but don’t usually have to do this.  One of the reasons why I KNOW chicken poop compost is used is because I get my chicken poop compost for my garden from the same place that grows the mushrooms, and LOL you should see all the mushrooms that grow in my garden after I add the compost.  They actually call the compost “mushroom compost” but it definitely is not made from mushroom waste.  One thing I can tell you about mushrooms, if you wash them they don’t sauté well.  You also don’t ever want to add salt to them while they’re cooking because it makes the mushrooms sweat and there is too much water in the pan for them to brown nicely.  Salt them after you finish cooking them.
 
I know you said you’re not interested in hearing from people whether they have reactions to mushrooms, but I can tell you I eat mushrooms sautéed in olive oil and garlic several times a week, I love them, and they are loaded with vitamin d.  I NEVER react to them, and I am ultra ultra sensitive celiac, gosh, I get sick just smelling gluten, can’t eat at other people’s houses, etc. etc. etc.  I am one of the most sensitive celiacs I know, and have been on a strict gluten free and dairy free diet for more than 7 years.

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Mushrooms are fungus & get energy to grown by de-construction other things.  They grow on the decomposing straw--stems but not seeds.  They are g.f.  
 
Mushroom are a natural product, unwashed.  Recommendation for cleaning are to removed the debris w/ a brush or damp towel. You can rinse them under running water to clean if you like.  Don't soak, however, as they will soak up water & whatever else in on them.
 
If you have problems w/ yeast, which is also a fungus, you may also react to mushrooms.

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