Gov't strikes again, now almonds won't be healthy

Options
Rosemary44
Rosemary44 Member Posts: 2,660
edited June 2014 in Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_4859.cfm

While the USDA generously describes the new almond treatments as pasteurization, the most common treatment method expected to be used fumigates almonds with propylene oxide. In lab experiments, the chemical leads to gene mutation, DNA strand breaks, and neoplastic cell transformation. The U.S. EPA has classified propylene oxide as a probable human carcinogen. Its use in treating food for human consumption is banned in the European Union, Canada, Mexico, and most other countries.
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • rmc
    rmc Member Posts: 13
    edited July 2007
    Thanks for this alert Rosemary. I happened to be speaking by phone to a small local grower of almonds and asked her about this. She said the regulation would only apply to large scale growers and that people could still get non-treated almonds from small scale growers. I would imagine a natural foods store or co-op would have access to these small scale growers.
    Marina
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Cynthia1962
    Cynthia1962 Member Posts: 1,424
    edited July 2007
    "The only exemptions to these new regulations will be organic "raw" almonds, which 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." It sounds as if the only way to get unpasturized raw almonds now is at farm stands. I've read that Trader Joe's will sell only the heat pasturized kind, so other stores may follow suit.

    Cynthia
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited July 2007
    That sounds awful! Does anyone know how nuts, in general, are typically processed? What is done, commercially, by companies such as Planters?

    Marin
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Sierra
    Sierra Member Posts: 1,638
    edited August 2007

    Good Grief

    Where am I to get my almonds

    I eat l2 every day..



    (

    Brazil nuts too
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Cynthia1962
    Cynthia1962 Member Posts: 1,424
    edited August 2007
    Hi all,

    I just noticed that the original post doesn't mention that the new regulations only apply to "raw" almonds. So, if you eat roasted almonds, then nothing has changed.

    Cynthia
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • katymom
    katymom Member Posts: 141
    edited August 2007
    Rosemary: Where in Texas are you? I am near Houston. Let me know if you find a place to get the right kind of Almonds. What a pain! I feel like we should grown our own food!

    Katymom
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Rosemary44
    Rosemary44 Member Posts: 2,660
    edited August 2007
    Katy,

    I'm outside Houston also. Ever go up to Fredericksburg for Octoberfest? There's a store there that sells home grown nuts from the local farmers. Pecans are native up there, plus they sell other varieties.

    http://www.oktoberfestinfbg.com/

    Wal-mart sells raw nuts which are somewhat fresh. They aren't as fresh as we would like. If you want the real fresh kind, you have to know someone living in San Francisco, they sell them at the farmer's market at the Ferry building.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • biondi
    biondi Member Posts: 223
    edited August 2007
    every time i try to pull up following site, i get server error, i guess they have it blocked, and don't want to hear from us.
    http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_4859.cfm

    rosemary, is their another site we can contact?
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • biondi
    biondi Member Posts: 223
    edited August 2007
    sorry, this is the site i can't get.

    http://cornucopia.org/index.php/238.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Indigoblue
    Indigoblue Member Posts: 274
    edited August 2007
    awwwww nuts!!!

    Thanks for the information; just ate some before I read this post, gag

    Pet food, baby food, fruits, nuts, veggies, bread, yikes!
    canned food, bottled water, pesticides, DDT, blow-fish poison accidently mixed up in shrimp! It's amazing anyone on this planet is living!

    I suppose we shouldn't be too shocked with a cancer dx when you read about all this goo in our food, water, air, soil, atmosphere, oceans, and landfills.

    Indi
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Rosemary44
    Rosemary44 Member Posts: 2,660
    edited August 2007
    biondi,

    It works fine for me. I just hit it and it takes you there from my original post. That's the only one I have.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Cynthia1962
    Cynthia1962 Member Posts: 1,424
    edited August 2007
    The pasturization requirement has been delayed until next year. I can't remember the specifics, but when I find where I read it, I will post the link. It was a result of all the complaints they got.

    Cynthia

    Well, that was quick...it suddenly dawned on me where I read it (that doesn't happen very often anymore, lol).

    http://www.naturalnewswire.com/2007/08/usda-plan-to-pa.html
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Rosemary44
    Rosemary44 Member Posts: 2,660
    edited August 2007

    Are you sure it's delayed? It only says they're asking for a delay. I think we should keep sending our nutsy notes.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Cynthia1962
    Cynthia1962 Member Posts: 1,424
    edited August 2007
    Oh my gosh, I didn't even really catch that so I did some checking and the USDA DIDN'T approve their request!

    http://cornucopia.org/index.php/usda-rej...treatment-plan/

    This is all the almond growers doing, btw. The Almond Board was the one that requested the USDA require the pasteurization, not the other way around. Many growers have already begun having their almonds pasteurized.

    Cynthia
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Rosemary44
    Rosemary44 Member Posts: 2,660
    edited August 2007

    I guess we'll have to buy raw almonds from out of the country. I don't have access to small growers. Was the almond board trying to put the small growers out of business? I hope this all turns on them.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • dpbrown523
    dpbrown523 Member Posts: 40
    edited September 2007

    Awwww I love almonds!  I don't think I can give them up!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Fireweed
    Fireweed Member Posts: 189
    edited September 2007

    This was implemented in response to persistent problems with salmonella infections (probably secondary to rodent and reptile contamination) in raw almonds. Salmonella is bad if you are healthy and potentially lethal if you are immunosupressed.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • TenderIsOurMight
    TenderIsOurMight Member Posts: 4,493
    edited March 2008

    I ate tons of raw almonds from TJ the year or so before my BC dx, never got sick. I love them.



    After BC, I read that almonds are estrogenic? I saw them listed as one food source to avoid if you're ER+.



    Anyone know about this?



    Tender

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Rosemary44
    Rosemary44 Member Posts: 2,660
    edited September 2007

    A lot of foods are estrogenic  but I don't pay any attention to that cause  I'm not sure we'd have much left to eat if we did.   The fats in nuts are the heart healthy fats that we really should be eating daily.

    It's not good enough to get the unhealthy fats out of our diet alone without  taking in the good fats.  Nuts are also great to eat right before we take vitamins that need fats to be absorbed.  

    The gov't is not doing us any favors here by making such an important food so unhealthy.

    Fireweed,

    From what I've read, there were only 2 outbreaks of samonella in the last 10 years.  Something like that.  This is overkill.  Meanwhile, I just heard on the news that the gov't did nothing about the spinach outbreak we had recently.  So we are on our own when eating spinach that come in plastic bags.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • leaf
    leaf Member Posts: 8,188
    edited September 2007

    Well, I think salmonella outbreaks are fairly common for food in general ,but I found 4 in almonds (one of these not in *raw* almonds) since 2004 (internationally).



    These are from almonds (or not)


    23-MAY-04 PRO/EDR> Salmonella, almonds - worldwide recall 20040523.1381


    19-MAY-04 PRO/EDR> Salmonella, almonds - USA (multistate): recall 20040519.1336


    26-AUG-05 PRO/AH/EDR> Salmonellosis - USA (CA)(02): not raw almonds 20050826.2524


    24-AUG-05 PRO/AH/EDR> Salmonellosis - USA (CA): raw almonds: susp. 20050824.2499





    (From the International Society for Infectious Disease)



    http://www.promedmail.org/pls/promed/f?p=2400:1000:17942455795104880077:::::(Just thought I'd offer this as a potential database.)



    I love almonds, and I think this is overkill too.


    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories