The regulatory landscape regarding nuts has changed tremendously over the last 10 years, particularly since the mandated pasteurization of Almonds in 2007 following food borne illness outbreaks. At the time the program was challenged by the industry, but the FDA and the Almond Board of California agreed that the move was necessary to protect the consumers and support the marketing of the health benefits of almond consumption.  And this has been proven to be very effective as there have been no California almond recalls since then.

However, there have been food borne illness outbreaks and product recalls on other tree nuts and currently FDA is conducting a risk assessment on the product category.  An extensive sampling plan is underway and as a result salmonella positive cases found in retail packs and at processors are made public on a weekly basis. These positive samples all trigger product recalls which negatively impact the industry and are very costly for the parties involved.

Industry groups are taking the situation very seriously and are conducting their own risk assessments. For many in the pistachio, walnut and hazelnut industries, preventative measures have already been implemented and the nuts are pasteurized.  For example, propylene oxide is now used not only on almonds but also on other nuts.  Alternatives for pasteurizing nuts are on the market which have demonstrated performances that meet the FDA 5log pasteurization requirement.  Natural pasteurization processes suitable for conventional and organic products have emerged recently as alternatives to fumigation.

One technology, Napasol, is the leader in the market with large installations operating in the walnut and hazelnut industries and with processors who handle a wide range of nuts.  The nuts are preheated and then exposed to dry saturated steam which provides validated pasteurization performance without moisture pick up and no drying step necessary post pasteurization.  This saturated steam process maintains the color, bite, texture and taste, as well as moisture and water activity levels of the raw nuts.

The tree nut industry is poised for major changes in food safety with the implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) which impacts not only domestically produced nuts but also concerns producing countries around the world. Pasteurization of nuts is becoming the norm in the nut industry as processors adapt to increasing regulatory constraints and industry demands.  Processors are embracing these changes and many are choosing to bring a pasteurization process in house rather than send their products to third party for treatment.

Even as the consumption of nuts is boosted by demonstrated health and nutritional benefits, the industry is bracing for regulatory action and growing customer demand to insure the microbial safety of these popular snacks.

Written by: Dr. Cameon Ivarsson, Scientific Director Napasol AG

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A macadamia processing plant near Lismore has cracked a world-first for nut treatment.

The pasteurisation machine at the Alphadale company MPC reduces levels of micro-organisms through non-chemical methods.

"The pasteuriser treats food in a way that reduces the levels of potentially pathogenic micro-organisms that may be present," general manager of MPC, Stephen Lee, said.

"The pasteuriser that we are using uses non-chemical treatment, so it is only using a combination of heat, steam and atmospheric pressure on the macadamia kernel," he said.

It took three years of researching equipment to settle on the new technology that cost $1.7 million.

Mr Lee said the system would reduce the need for product recalls over health concerns such as salmonella.

"We're the first processor in the world that has installed a machine that is capable of achieving a 5-log reduction of salmonella on macadamia kernel," Mr Lee said.

The pasteuriser treats food in a way that reduces the levels of potentially pathogenic micro-organisms that may be present. 

"Obviously the impact of a product recall is not just the costs associated with the recall, but it's the damage to brand reputation," he said.

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Napasol’s largest nut pasteurization unit in the US goes into operation at Hazelnut Growers of Oregon (HGO) in Cornelius, Oregon. In the Napasol process products are treated at relatively low temperatures with dry saturated steam, thus maintaining the sensory attributes of raw nuts while achieving a minimum 5log reduction in pathogens.