Almonds were one of my favorite foods until today. This is not a recall, but a warning about
fumigants used on the almond crops in this country since September of 2007, thanks to the
USDA. The raw almonds in the store are no longer raw and are not labeled. Follow this
California almond story:

http://www.earthtimes.org:80/articles/show/cornucopia-institute-almond-growers-and,534464.shtml
 
Cornucopia Institute: Almond Growers and Handlers File Federal Lawsuit to End 'Adulteration' of Raw Nuts 
Posted : Wed, 10 Sep 2008 09:01:21 GMT
Author : Cornucopia Institute 
Category : Press Release 

Lawsuit Would Halt Treatments with Toxic Fumigant or Steam Heat WASHINGTON, Sept. 10

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A group of fifteen
American almond growers and wholesale nut handlers filed a lawsuit in the
Washington, D.C. federal court on Tuesday, September 9 seeking to repeal a
controversial USDA-mandated treatment program for California-grown raw
almonds.

The almond farmers and handlers contend that their businesses have been
seriously damaged and their futures jeopardized by a requirement that raw
almonds be treated with propylene oxide (a toxic fumigant recognized as a
carcinogen by the EPA) or steam-heated before they can be sold to American
consumers.  Foreign-grown almonds are exempt from treatment and are rapidly
displacing raw domestic nuts in the marketplace.

Why is this a problem? Well, the US is the leading producer of almonds, followed by guess who?
http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20080326/FOOD/803250348/0/FOOD
http://www.springerlink.com/content/qmx8724tt82u1218/

The United States is the leading producer of almonds, followed by China, Italy, Spain and other
countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.

http://www.almondboard.com/files/PDFs/General.pdf
California Almond Board producers for export

http://www.bluediamond.com/about/index.cfm
Blue Diamond® Growers is the world's largest tree nut processing and marketing company. Founded in 1910, the cooperative
is celebrating its 98th anniversary in 2008. Blue Diamond® led the development of California's almond industry from a minor
domestic specialty crop to the world leader in almond production and marketing. We continue to build markets and create new
products, new uses, and new opportunities for members of Blue Diamond® Growers.

Headquartered in Sacramento, California, approximately 3000 California almond growers deliver California almonds annually to
their cooperative. The crop is marketed to all 50 states and more than 90 foreign countries, making almonds California's largest food
export, and the sixth largest U.S. food export. The California crop is valued annually at over $1 billion dollars.

This story has everything: possible health hazards for your family and pets, Salmonella contamination, and agri-business/USDA being too
involved in only protecting industry.

http://www.foodreference.com/html/a-almonds-newreg.html
... 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 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 sanitation either on the farm or in processing facilities.

Glenn Anderson, a small-scale organic almond farmer in the central valley of California, worries that “This could be one more way for the big companies and the government to put us small farmers out of business.”

The equipment to sterilize almonds is very expensive.  A propylene oxide chamber costs $500,000 to $1,250,000, and a roasting line can cost as much as $1,500,000 to $2,500,000. ...

... The most common method of sterilizing almonds is by propylene oxide fumigation.  Propylene oxide is a genotoxic chemical and is listed as a possible carcinogen by the International Agency on Cancer Research.  In lab experiments, the chemical leads to gene mutation, DNA strand breaks, and neoplastic cell transformation.  It is listed as a “possible” carcinogen because no long-term studies have been done with humans.  Its use for treating food for human consumption is banned in the European Union, Canada, Mexico, and most other countries.

... MORE:  According to Andrew Kimbrell, the Director of the Center for Food Safety, “The decision to foist fumigants on unsuspecting almond consumers is just another example of an agency out of control.”  Adds Kimbrell, “USDA is being run lock, stock, and barrel by agribusiness and has abandoned its duty to protect the public and the farming community.  This USDA decision, along with FDA’s long-standing refusal to label genetically engineered food, and its recent decision to attempt to label irradiated foods as “pasteurized,” is a conscious effort by the Administration to leave consumers in the dark about the dangers lurking in their food.”   

One of my cats likes almonds that I thought were raw and organic. I guess not. How long can we continue fumigating things and irradiating things
to take care of the real problems of bad manufacturing processes, bad agricultural practices, and contaminated transportation of the food supply?

Apparently there were two for Salmonella in which the USDA could not track the exact source. Sorry, but I already tossed
my research on this and can't find the exact years. But the costs of equipment to do this sterilization would
seem to favor big business over smaller producers, and isn't exactly my picture of the best consumer food
safety.

What I read indicated to me they don't have to tell you anything about the process
used, steam or fumigant. That's what has my knickers in a knot. So I don't know.

Lovely additional news: Aflatoxin Fact Sheet, from California's Almond Board:

http://www.almondboard.com/files/aflatoxin%20fact%20sheet%20final.pdf

Because they are a potent carcinogen, tolerances for aflatoxins have
been established to reduce risk of exposure. When almonds are tested
in the lab for aflatoxins and are found to have levels above the allowable
limits, the consignment will have to be reconditioned or rejected
with significant monetary losses to the grower and handler.

One of the largest markets for California almonds—the European
Union (EU)—also has one of the lowest allowable limits for aflatoxin
contamination on almonds.

Another sector at risk as a result of aflatoxin contamination is the
almond by-product markets, including animal feed and oil. Inedible
almonds, almond hulls, and press cake, the meal leftover after
pressing almonds for oil, are used in animal feed as they provide
a good source of fiber and sugars. These by-products are subject
to scrutiny because aflatoxins can be concentrated in the inedible
almonds and meal.


Apparently all almonds have to be pasteurized, processed to reduce salmonella:

http://www.almondboard.com/Programs/content.cfm?ItemNumber=890&snItemNumber=450
Do all almonds have to be pasteurized?
In order to provide the assurance to consumers that the California almond industry is taking every precaution to provide the safest, highest quality almonds in the world, almond suppliers must have the certainty that all almonds reaching consumers have undergone a minimum 4-log reduction treatment.  Therefore, pasteurization at the handler level is required on shipments of raw almonds with the following exemptions:  (1) shipments of untreated almonds directly to approved Direct Verifiable (DV) users within North America (U.S., Canada & Mexico which must be labeled as “unpasteurized” on all bulk packaging (e.g. cartons, boxes, tote bags, etc.) and (2) shipments to export markets not within North America   which must be labeled as “unpasteurized” on all bulk packaging (e.g. cartons, boxes, tote bags, etc.) .  In this way all customers of California almonds, worldwide, will either receive pasteurized product or will be advised through labeling that the product they are receiving is unpasteurized and requires further treatment. To access the Action Plan - Exemptions Fact sheet click here.

Exemptions Fact Sheet:
http://www.almondboard.com/files/April%202007%20%20Exemptions.pdf

http://www.almondboard.com/Programs/content.cfm?ItemNumber=890&snItemNumber=450
While the Action Plan standard for treated almonds is a minimum 4-log reduction, a number of technologies have already been identified which result in a 5-log reduction – these include fumigation with propylene oxide (PPO), blanching and oil roasting.  To review the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for PPO, please click here.

http://almondboard.files.cms-plus.com/PDFs/OilH2OFDAapproval.pdf
We have reviewed the studies and have concluded that hot water or hot oil treatments of
almonds are capable of delivering a 5-log reduction of Salmonella Enteriditis PT30
provided the hot water or hot oil treatment parameters described in the conclusions of the
studies are met.

Look at it this way, Peg, it's a 3-fer
Aflatoxins, liver damage and cancer
Fumigant, carcinogenic
and Salmonella exposure

All in one nutshell, courtesy of agribusiness

It looks like blanched or roasted (in oil) almonds would be the best.

Who dreamt this process up? From the article on the lawsuit:

http://www.earthtimes.org:80/articles/show/cornucopia-institute-almond-growers-and,534464.shtml
"The USDA's raw almond treatment mandate has been economically devastating
to many family-scale and organic almond farmers in California," said Will
Fantle, the research director for the Wisconsin-based Cornucopia Institute.
Cornucopia has been working with almond farmers and handlers to address the
negative impacts of the USDA rule, including the loss of markets to foreign
nuts.

The USDA, in consultation with the Almond Board of California, invoked its
treatment plan on September 1, 2007 alleging that it was a necessary food
safety requirement.  Salmonella-tainted almonds twice this decade caused
outbreaks of food related illnesses.  USDA investigators were never able to
determine how salmonella bacteria somehow contaminated the raw almonds that
caused the food illnesses but they were able to trace back one of the
contaminations, in part, to the largest "factory farm," growing almonds and
pistachios on over 9000 acres.

Agribusiness has a problem that's costing it money based on it looks like bad agricultural
practices. Rather than clean up its practices, suddenly a government regulation appears
saying all growers must do this. It's too expensive for the decent growers. And consumer
food safety suffers. Sound familiar?

As for why propylene keeps appearing in foods contaminated with Salmonella, I have to
leave that discussion to those who better understand how to kill off Salmonela.

Just plain nuts.  Please!

Lets see, forego U.S. fumigated almonds for China contaminated-in-lord-knows-what-way almonds......wow, what a choice.  Have these people all gone crazy?  I have visions of men in haz-mat suits out in a field with clouds of chemicals and pesticides all around them as they "save" us.  Unfortunately, its probably not so far from the truth.