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Jen
Expedition Leader
1384 Posts
Jennifer
Calico Rock
AR
USA
1384 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 10 2007 : 08:23:47 AM
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August 6, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Will Fantle, 715-839-7731
USDA Plan to "Pasteurize" Almonds Has Consumers Going Nuts
Mandate Would Require Use of Chemical Fumigant
or Heat Treatment on "Raw" Almonds
CORNUCOPIA, WI: Small-scale farmers, retailers, and consumers are renewing
their call to the USDA to reassess the plan to "pasteurize" all California
almonds with a toxic fumigant or high-temperature sterilization process.
All domestic almonds will be mandated to have the treatments by early next
year. The plan was quietly developed by the USDA in response to outbreaks
of Salmonella in 2001 and 2004 that were traced to raw almonds.
"The almond 'pasteurization' plan will have many harmful impacts on
consumers and the agricultural community," said Will Fantle, research
director for The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm policy
research group. "Only 18 public comments from the entire U.S.-and all from
almond industry insiders-were received on the proposal. The logic behind
both the necessity and safety of the treatments processes has not been fully
or adequately analyzed-as well as the economic costs to small-scale growers
and the loss of consumer choices."
Last Wednesday, the California Almond Board suddenly requested that USDA
delay the treatment mandate until March, 2008-it had been scheduled to take
effect on September 1. "We support this request for a delay," said Fantle,
"but a delay, due to the industry being unprepared, isn't enough. The USDA
must also re-open the rule for public review and comment so that those who
have been shut out of the decision-making process can have input into any
almond treatment plan."
Although foodborne illnesses have garnered headlines in recent years,
including contamination of California-grown spinach and lettuce, raw produce
and nuts are not inherently risky foods. Contamination occurs when livestock
manure or other fecal matter is inadvertently transferred to food through
contaminated water, soil, or transportation and handling equipment. Raw
foods can also be infected by poor employee hygiene and sanitation practices
either on the farm or in processing facilities.
"All fresh foods carry some chance of risk," notes Bruce Lampinen, a
scientist at University of California, Davis, who studies almonds, "but
there is no more risk now than there was thirty years ago."
And the fear in the farming community is that this will competitively injure
smaller sustainable and organic growers. "This will put American farmers at
a distinct disadvantage in the U.S. and abroad," says organic almond farmer
Mark McAfee. Fumigated almonds are banned in the EU and many other
countries. McAfee worries about the impact of the rule on his business.
Seventy percent of California's crop is exported.
Several domestic companies that use California almonds are already
investigating foreign sources for their needs. After buying almonds from
local producers for over 25 years, Living Tree Community Foods, a Berkeley,
CA-based natural foods supplier, will soon begin buying almonds from Italy
and Spain. Dr. Jesse Schwartz, the president of the specialty retailer,
believes the rule, if implemented, will be a travesty for American
agriculture. "California almonds are the heritage of the American people,"
he says, "they are superior in every way."
Jason Mahon owns Premier Organics, a company that produces raw almond butter
in Oakland, CA. Mahon is also looking to foreign suppliers and believes the
rule is an unnecessary "fear-based decision of the Almond Board, that is
clearly trying to protect itself from bad press and lawsuits."
The equipment to meet the new USDA mandate is very expensive, ranging from
$500,000 to $2,500,000. Farms can outsource the pasteurization process, but
Hendrik Feenstra, a small-scale California handler of organic almonds,
believes that to do so will still be prohibitively expensive for
modest-sized growers and handlers. "Because pasteurization companies often
charge a flat rate no matter the quantity of almonds, it could be four or
five times more expensive for small-scale almond producers to pasteurize
almonds than it will be for industrial-scale producers," Feenstra says. And
modest-size marketers are concerned that increased transportation costs will
also add to their burden
Organic farmers also question the science behind the rule. They believe that
the sustainable farming methods they use, such as mowing and mulching,
rather than controlling weeds by chemical herbicide applications, naturally
prevent the spread of harmful bacteria more effectively than treatment after
the fact. According to almond grower Glenn Anderson, "An organic farming
system fosters biodiversity and creates an environment where Salmonella
cannot survive. This rule ignores the root causes of food contamination-the
unnatural, dangerous, and unsustainable farming practices on industrial
farms."
An important segment of the agricultural community feels that requiring
small-scale and organic farms to comply with this rule is unwarranted and
premature, as Salmonella outbreaks have only been traced to a very large
industrial farm, and there is currently no published research pinpointing
the causes of the harmful bacteria. "With the costs involved, and the
implications on trade, they are recklessly experimenting with the livelihood
of farmers," Fantle added.
Furthermore, there is a lack of evidence supporting the use of the chemical
fumigant, propylene oxide (PPO), and steam as the only effective treatments
to reduce risk of Salmonella. The most common method of sterilizing almonds
is by PPO treatment, a genotoxic chemical recognized as a possible
carcinogen that is banned in the European Union, Canada, Mexico, and most
other countries. Many chemical-free and heat-free alternatives are being
researched. "The Almond Board has not released any of the scientific
research justifying their treatment choices," asserts Eli Penberthy, a
policy analyst at Cornucopia. "This rule should not be implemented until
alternative technologies are thoroughly explored."
The Cornucopia Institute also contends labeling treated almonds as "raw" is
misleading and deceptive to consumers. "People choose to buy raw almonds
for a variety of personal reasons, including health, nutrition, and even
religious beliefs," Cornucopia's Fantle said. "This rule denies them the
right to control their food choices by making informed decisions in the
marketplace."
In fact, some strict vegetarians who consume only raw foods rely on almonds
to provide as much as 30% of their caloric intake, believing that they are a
nutritionally superior alternative to meat in the diet. "Raw almonds are
increasingly popular for their health benefits," said Goldie Caughlin, the
Nutrition Education Manager at Puget Community Cooperative in Seattle, who
estimates that the co-op sells 28,000 pounds of raw almonds every year. She
said customers are already confused and angered by the implications of the
rule, and worries how it will affect sales.
Fantle charges that the rule could very well establish a precedent for more
governmental control of fresh foods. Says Fantle, "If almonds require
pasteurization, what foods will be next on the list of mandatory
sterilization, heat treatment, and irradiation? Truly raw, untreated nuts,
fruits, and vegetables might no longer be legally available in the
marketplace."
- 30 -
MORE:
Public concern about the almond treatment plan has been growing. Over 1,000
comments opposing almond pasteurization have been submitted to the USDA
since the plan was approved on March 31, and an online petition to stop the
implementation of the rule has garnered over 15,000 signatures. (To learn
more about the issue, go to www.cornucopia.org and click on the almond
navigation button.)
The only exemption to the almond treatment regulations will be an allowance
for growers to sell truly raw almonds directly to the public from farmstead
stands. Unfortunately, this will give only a limited number of consumers in
specific areas of California, the only state in the nation that produces
almonds, access to untreated nuts.
Diets based on raw foods are integral to some religious denominations, such
as Seventh-Day Adventism, so the rule poses a threat not only to consumer
choice, but to religious freedom as well.
The View From My Boots: www.bovesboots.blogspot.com
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USDA Plan to "Pasteurize" Almonds
