Newsletters: May - June 2007

« Back to Newsletter

New Federal Rule Mandates Sterilization of All California Almonds

By Will Fantle

CORNUCOPIA, WISCONSIN: A new federal regulation will require all almonds grown in California to be sterilized with various "pasteurization" techniques. The plan is angering small-scale farmers, retailers and consumers. The rule was quietly developed by the USDA and the California Almond Board in response to Salmonella outbreaks in 2001 and 2004 that were traced to raw almonds. The rule requires all almonds to undergo a sterilization process that includes chemical and/or high-temperature treatments and is slated to take effect this coming September.

"The new rule is unwarranted and could have many harmful impacts," says Mark Kastel, senior farm policy analyst at The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm policy research group. "The costs of the chemical and heat treatments, in addition to the costs of transporting and recording the new procedures, will be especially onerous on small-scale and organic farmers, and could force many out of business."

Cornucopia has formally asked the USDA to re-open the regulatory proceeding to allow for additional public input and review. Only 18 public comments-all from the almond industry-were received on the draft rule when it was open for public comment in early 2007. Unlike consumers, retailers, or other organizations concerned with food safety, all almond handlers received a personal letter or fax from the USDA alerting them to the sterilization proposal and inviting their comments.

The most common method of sterilizing almonds is by propylene oxide fumigation. In lab experiments, the chemical leads to gene mutation, DNA strand breaks, and neoplastic cell transformation. It is listed as a "possible" carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer 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.

The only exemption to these new regulations will be organic "raw" almonds that will not be fumigated, but will undergo the steam-heat treatment, and small-scale growers who can sell truly raw almonds but only direct to the public from farm stands.

The new rule also creates deceptive labeling. Almonds that have been roasted or blanched will be labeled "raw," despite having undergone sterilization treatments. Consumers who purchase "raw" almonds may well think that those almonds are natural and unprocessed. Moreover, there will be no label requirement to specify what kind of pasteurization treatment was used among the approved methods.

The Davis Food Co-op is nestled next to the heart of almond-growing country in Davis, California. Doug Walter, the co-op's member services director, believes consumers have the right to know what's going onto and into their food.

"Co-op's are for maximum information," Walter says. "To have a treatment on the almond that is not fully disclosed is a problem." Walter notes a growing interest on the part of the co-op's members in raw foods. "People," he adds, "need to have options."

Glenn Anderson, a small-scale organic almond farmer in California's central valley 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.

Anderson and some other growers believe that the sustainable farming methods they use, such as mowing and mulching rather than controlling weeds by chemical herbicide applications, protect biodiversity and naturally prevent the spread of harmful bacteria more effectively than the artificial process of pasteurization.

Unlike milk, eggs, and meats, for which real pasteurization and cooking offers an important protection from food-borne illness, no scientific evidence exists to show that almonds are an inherently risky food. In fact, Salmonella contamination of almonds can only occur when livestock manure or fecal matter is inadvertently transferred to the nuts through contaminated water, soil, or transportation and handling equipment. Almonds may also be infected by poor employee sanitation either on the farm or in processing facilities.

While two outbreaks may bring bad publicity and economic losses to the almond industry, it does not prove that almonds are inherently unsafe. Practically any food, raw or processed, has some risk of causing food-borne illness; it is unlikely that almonds are any more dangerous to consumers than lettuce, apples, or even chocolate Cornucopia's Kastel asks: "Is it justified to impose these onerous regulations on an entire industry, impacting consumers, because of two relatively small outbreaks, one of which has been traced to Paramount Farms, a giant, industrial-scale farming operation raising 70,000 of acres of nut crops that is by no means representative of the industry as a whole?"

If all almonds now require pasteurization, what foods will be next on the list of mandatory sterilization, heat treatment, or irradiation?

This could, suggests Kastel, be the first step in a slippery slope toward a sterile food environment that protects processors from lawsuits and facilitates industrial-scale food processing and distribution networks while offering fewer food choices to consumers who prefer organic or raw and unprocessed foods.

The Cornucopia Institute is urging concerned consumers, retailers and farmers to contact the USDA and demand that the new rule mandating "pasteurization" of almonds be re-opened for public comment and review.

Mr. Fantle is the Research Director for The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based organization dedicated to the fight for economic justice for the family-scale farming community.