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."
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."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."
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.)
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 said.
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 Caughlan, 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 notes that
customers are already confused and angered by the implications
of the rule, and worries how it will affect sales.
Diets
based on raw foods are also 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
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.
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