so i was wondering whether the packaged "raw almonds" at trader joe's actually were .. i knew that at one point last year they weren't, but wanted to check up on the current situation. anyway, here's what they said:


Nicole,

We appreciate your inquiry. Although, the nuts are not roasted and are
completely raw, the final product with packaging is pasteurized to
maintain its shelf stability. This process includes heating above 115
degrees. We hope this information is helpful.

Thank you for shopping at Trader Joe's,
Amy
Customer Relations



thought y'all might like to know

:-(

wtf!?!? why do they say "raw??"

omg that means everyones nuts are not really raw and not even mentoned on the package!!!

Wow! Ummmm... yea talk about deceitful.

Trade Joes has responded well to customers needs in the past. For example, they start labeling non-GMO foods (ones not labeled GMO-free might be GMO-free, but they couldn't find out or something), also they carried anti-GMO food leaflets and stuff.

I think if we all asked them nicely enough, they would help our cause as well and might consider labeling which foods are truely raw, which "raw" foods have been pasteurized, etc.. Maybe even carrying truely raw almonds and nuts?

I don't think they mean to be decetiful or anything, they just don't realize that they are our source of raw nuts.

Anyway, I think they would be willing to help if enough of us asked nicely.

Cheers,
Ian.

I have sucessfully soaked TJ's almonds and to the point where they began to sprout. I don't think I could do this if they were not raw.

Ian, you've got a great perspective on things. I agree, trader joe's probably just doesn't know any better... and will never know what raw really means unless customers tell them.

So, to whoever wants to drop trader joe's a line, here's where to go:
[www.traderjoes.com]

(I've been saying this for a few months now, there should be a certification (with processing standards) for truly raw nuts, just like OPDC has done for their raw dairy products).

>>I have sucessfully soaked TJ's almonds and to the point where they began to sprout. I don't think I could do this if they were not raw.<<

and if I microwave my cat for 10 seconds, it might still go meow

Shoot! I thought Trader Joe's almonds were raw since they no longer had the "Pasturized" wording on the front. Glad to know that they are not. How sad. Like most everyone else here, I was getting my nuts/seeds from them, too. I suppose that their seeds are also pasturized even though labeled raw if the nuts are that way.

Hmm, anyone know of a good, reasonably priced source of truly raw nuts/seeds?

Therese

You can find truly raw almonds here: [wholesale-almonds.com]

Here's part of an email exchange I had with them,


---------------------------------------------------
- How do you process and dry your almonds? Are they sun dried, air-dried, hot-air dried?

Our almonds are not processed in any way. They are dried on the trees by the sun, then knocked to the ground, left to dry there for a week, then picked up and hulled and shelled. No processing anywhere.

- Are they heated in any way during hulling/shelling/drying?

No. Temperatures on the Orchard floor can reach 100F in the late summer in the San Joaquin Valley.

- If they are heated, to what temperature are they heated? (I eat a raw food diet and try to avoid foods that have been cooked/heated above a certain temperature).

We do not heat nuts! Heat is very bad for nuts, and there is no reason whatsoever to heat nuts. However nuts offered for sale in large retail chains (***, *** etc) have been heated in the process of pasteurization. Our nuts are not pasteurized, they heat nuts for legal reasons, as they have been sued many times for contaminated nuts.

------------------------------------------

(I removed the names of the companies he mentioned who pasteurize their nuts, but one of them is the topic of this thread)

Jono,

Thanks. So sad that I have to minimize the trips to Trader Joe's as they used to be my only source for nuts/seeds. They are a friendly bunch and I'm sorry to have to stop going there.

The nuts on the link look very promising and reasonably priced. Thanks so much for the research and link.

Therese

does that mean that anywhere that sells packaged "raw" nuts means that they are not really raw? Or do you think that's just trader joes?

do you think that it is a necessary procedure to package things to heat them?

if trader joes sells pasteurized nuts as "raw", id guess most other chains do too, probably even wholefoods (who actually sells tons of processed foods). we live in a cooked world and it'll be a while until raw becomes mainstream.

another source for truly raw nuts may be ebay. there are often backyard farmers selling nuts on ebay... its a crap shoot though... you really have to ask lots of questions about freshness and rawness and ask to see pictures, and ask if they've been air/sun dried otherwise they may be moldy when they arrive.

I would like to know if anyone knows how long almonds and other nuts will store for at room temps of 65 - 70 degrees fahrenheit? How long do they last before they go rancid?

Timot,

The best way to get nuts that are actually raw is to buy them in the shells.