[www.washingtonpost.com]

USDA Denies Request to Delay Almond Rule

By JULIANA BARBASSA
The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 21, 2007; 3:54 AM

SAN FRANCISCO -- A new rule requiring all California almonds to be pasteurized will go into effect Sept. 1, despite farmers' requests to postpone the provision for six months, federal agricultural officials said.

The growers, represented by the California Almond Board, said they needed the extra time to get the necessary equipment and processes in place to avoid an interruption in the flow of nuts to market.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's decision to implement the rule stemmed from salmonella outbreaks in 2001 and 2004 that were traced to raw almonds.

Farmers' worries about being able to meet the rule's requirements, particularly when faced with an expected bumper crop of 1.33 billion pounds of almonds this year, were taken into consideration, but public health was the main concern, federal officials said.

"While we understand the Board's concerns, USDA also wants to ensure that the quality and safety of almonds and almond products in the marketplace continue to improve," Robert Keeney, deputy administrator of the department's fruit and vegetable programs, wrote in a letter to the Almond Board dated Thursday. "These goals require measures to help reduce the potential of a third salmonella outbreak linked to almonds."

Almond production in the United States has surged as the nut's popularity increases among health-conscious consumers, and California has dominated world production. The state's 6,000 almond farmers expect their crop to fetch $1.4 billion this year.

Followers of raw food diets and shoppers who prefer unprocessed, organic nuts protested the government's original pasteurization decision and organized a national letter-writing campaign asking the USDA to reconsider.

The pasteurization process, also used to sterilize milk, juice and eggs, typically exposes the shelled and hulled nuts to a moist burst of steam, which heats their surface to about 200 degrees, killing any pathogens. An alternative sterilization process sends the almonds into a chamber where they're sprayed with a gas.

The USDA advised the Almond Board that almonds may be treated by facilities with pasteurization processes that haven't received the board's final approval. This would ease some concerns growers had about not having adequate facilities to pasteurize the nuts in time to meet the deadline, board officials said.

"The USDA has been receptive to hearing the implementation concerns the industry has, which mostly revolved around logistics, and the USDA has pledged their assistance," said Richard Waycott, the board's president and CEO.

Some industry representatives still opposed the move, saying there was little input from consumers, who might switch to imported raw almonds that don't fall under the same regulations.

"The public had no opportunity to get involved in this process," said Will Fantle, research director at the Wisconsin-based farm policy group Cornucopia Institute.

well that sucks!
patty

hmm what will happen next:

- people driving directly to almond farms to purchase fresh raw almonds on the down-low.

- an underground raw almond trade developing with the help of coops.

- people start planting almond trees all over - backyards, public parks, community farms.

- medicinal almond clubs spring up in San Francisco and Santa Cruz... state propositions voted on to legalize raw almonds for medicinal purposes.

I can also see them being marketed as untreated, when they're actually not.


By the time they reach the public, no one knows where foods come from and all information is white-washed.


Argh.....how many times have I asked and phoned and finally given up checking a food's pedigree!

I have located a transitional farmer (some of his crops are certified organic, others are still awaiting certification) who has agreed to sell me a large quantity of unpasteurized almonds, freshly harvested and shelled. I will be selling them only once a year, just after harvest. I'm only buying what I know I can sell, so I'm taking advance orders. Minimum order is 5 pounds. Shipping will be actual cost so you can check it on any of the postage calculation sites (my zip is 98007). I need to collect all orders by September 6. The almonds are organic, but not certified. The price is $7 per pound. Please feel free to email me directly if you have questions or would like to order.

Best regards,
Nora
nmlenz@speakeasy.net

rawnora... this is exactly the kind of thing that is going to get further policing of almonds. If you go on here and advertise what your plans are then it's really pretty easy to figure stuff out.

There are many options available still.

I realize this may sound paranoid to a lot of you, but I completely believe this. There are solutions out there for anyone who wants them.

>There are solutions out there for anyone who wants them.<

Morrison66, are you saying that everything is fine? You don't think this is something we need to address? What options are "available still"? I believe this is new age wishful thinking. We need to be proactive and let the government know we don't want our food tampered with and contaminated in this way.

Not living in California and not wanting to break the bank or the law to get almonds, I see no recourse but to stop eating almonds.

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

thanks for the reply but you completely missed the point. If you want to call me and find out what I'm talking about then feel free. Let me know via PM and I'll give you my number. Also, if I can come up with $$ to take care of things on $25k per year and $885 a month in rent AND a raw food diet then so can everyone else. This is for a family of 3 by the way... $25k total.

Sometimes I feelthis way too morrisson66 but other times I feel we should all be as vocal as possible..



If everyone who felt concern over their food quality was vocal, there would be many more (maybe less-informed) voices than there are now.


People don't speak up - for every one that does, probably there are 4 who don't feel it's worth doing so......I used to be one of the silent resenters. Now I speak about my discontent a lot and am known for being a grump about it all. Well, I am.


Cheers

I'm not silent or resentful. I don't live in California and I came up with a solution.

Hmmmm.........yes I'm curious.

First they came for the almonds, and I didn’t speak up,
because I don't live in California.

Then they came for the dates, and I didn’t speak up,
because I don't live in Arizona.

Then they came for the mangoes, and I didn’t speak up,
because I don't live in Hawaii.

Then they came to me, and there was nothing left
for me to eat.

Force the change you want to see in the world through direct, socialist democracy!

[www.dreamingearth.net]

LOL this is ridiculous. Do some research. Find a solution. They are out there. I have spoken up. I have called. I have spoken. I have written and signed. However, I am not stupid and choose to create my own solution in the meantime. I think that's the way things are going to go. It is no one else's responsibility to take care of ourselves than us.

But if it makes ya feel better to assume that I'm not speaking up then feel free. I've still created my own solution. Create yours.

I wonder what reaction (if any) we'll see from producers of truely raw almond butters, and suppliers of viable sprouting almonds, and other other raw almond foods. I think they should all sue the FDA.

dream earth--

Thank you for expressing what I feel, and so eloquently. We've gotta get on top of these food production issues now and mobilize.

Morrison--
We ARE creating our own solution. The government is supposed to be FOR the people; not against us. Remember how we used to hear that it's 'our' government? So how is it you feel we're abdicating our 'responbility' by asking the federal government to have rational, safe, and fair food production standards and policies?

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

well, thankfully i can just throw some sunflower seeds into the dirt in my back yard and by the end of summer have all the fresh, raw, organic seeds i could ever possibly want. whew, lucky me! sorry almond farmers, you'll have to find another market. i was feeling kinda bad about all the gasoline that gets burned to bring those nuts to me anyhow. problem solved!

Hey KendallBP. I also read about this back in May. It wasn't law until Sept.1,2007. However, on the ABC website (Almond Board of California) they describe each method in detail. The steam method is said to be a surface protection only. Three short burst of steam that will not damage the almond. Are they telling the truth...I don't know but they go on to say Organic farmers will choose this method.

I guess we can only wait and see how much damage (if any) the almond receives...

Kwan this really is funny... you are completely insinuating things that I'm saying based upon your own anger. I do think that it's our responsibility. I do think it's important to get things changed and I don't think it's fair. However I do find it important to create my own path in times like these.

I know where Nora is. I can easily know who she is buying from and I know some of the people she is selling to. I didn't even try to get this information like at all and it fell into my lap. What I'm saying is that it's important to create in situations like this as the pressure is maintained, but ultimately interpret me like you want. If you want to know what I came up with then PM me and I'll give you my home phone #... then that, as they say, will be that. Cuz then we can have a dialogue about the whole thing.

gabriel cousins once said to me to soak almonds in boiling hot water for a minute or so, said it actually increases enzyme activity somehow, don't know how that happens but... the skins come off real easy. three short bursts of steam don't sound all that harmful. are we talking in the shell or out? how do they propose to "sterilize" in the shell almonds then?

Morrisson66,
What I'm doing is not illegal. I'm as distrustful of government and authority as anyone (can you say 9/11 was an inside job) but I do think you are being a bit paranoid. We are under the radar of the people who made the decision to pasteurize. Raw fooders represent a minuscule fraction of consumers. The vast majority of consumers will be happy that almonds are now being pasteurized.

Further, the new guidelines permit farmers to sell unpasteurized almonds in specified quantities.

In addition, I know I am completely visible, I have a website with lots of personal information and I tell lots of people I'm in Seattle. However, I am not sharing my almond source with anyone, so I don't know how you think you know where or who it is.

If you are truly concerned about anybody getting into trouble, maybe you should write to me privately and tell me what you know that I don't. Thanks much.

Nora
www.RawSchool.com

dudes, take it outside already. you're really distrupting the flow of this otherwise informative thread. the other topics forum is a better place to have an off topic debate. thanks.

Now kids, eat your food and quit fighting. ;-)))))

Morrison--
Sorry if I misinterpreted you, and thanks for the willigness to help. To be honest though, I don't really like almonds all that much, and I hardly ever eat nuts in general. I just want them to be available to other people, and I feel the almond pasteurization thing could set a bad precedent.

Sharrhan:


[www.facebook.com]

coco,
I had missed your earlier post or I would have responded to it as well. You bring up some very good points that are being missed by most in the raw community.

I've never tested this but I would hazard to say that three minutes of boiling would be enough to substantially alter the nutrients in almonds. This certainly would not improve them or make them more digestible, contrary to what you heard from Dr. Cousens.

You are probably right, however, short bursts of steam will probably NOT substantially alter almonds. The almond industry claims to have done tests that show that pasteurization by this method does not alter the almonds. I don't blame anybody for being cynical, but the raw community seems to have summarily dismissed this information without even asking questions. I think we are basing our assumptions on what we know about pasteurization as it is employed in the processing of dairy products. Those methods are quite different than what is being done to almonds. Pasteurization thoroughly ruins dairy products, it's true, but I think it's worth assuming that this isn't the case with almonds, at least if we're talking about the steam method.

The problem as I see it is that the almond industry is not required to label its products to reflect the processing methods that have been used. There are several different "pasteurization" methods that have been approved for use by almond processors, including chemical treatment with propylene oxide. [This chemical is ranked in half of the tests that are used to gauge relative hazardness as one of the most hazardous compounds (worst 10%) to ecosystems and human health. It should be noted that its use is fairly widespread in other industries, such as in the manufacture of waterproof clothing, bowling balls, aircraft de-icers and other products.] So, when we buy almonds in stores, we won't know if we're getting steam-treated or chemically-treated almonds. Retailers can still label their products "raw" and/or "organic" regardless of which process has been used. And since it is now the law that almonds undergo pasteurization, we'll know that they've been subjected to one method or the other.

That's a great question about unshelled almonds. I think that the industry regards the shell to be sufficient protection from bacterial 'contamination' so I don't think they have any plans to pasteurize them in the shell but next time I talk to my supplier I'll see if I can find out.

Best regards,
Nora
www.RawSchool.com