When is a raw almond not a raw almond? When it's a pasteurized "raw" almond

Really Raw

It seems to be getting harder and harder to simply grow something nutritious and sell it in a whole, unprocessed form.

The most recent whole food casualty: raw almonds.

In the e-Alert “Living Proof” (4/16/08), I told you about a study that showed how eating almonds with a meal can impede glycemic and insulin responses – a welcome benefit for diabetics. In addition, almond intake protects proteins from oxidative damage while delivering vitamin E and other antioxidants, magnesium, calcium, folate, protein, fiber and living enzymes.

Not bad for a humble nut. But an HSI member poses this question: “Would the benefits of almonds also be true of pasteurized almonds?”

The “Living Proof” study used raw California almonds. But that study was conducted in 2006, when a raw almond was actually a raw, unprocessed, unpasteurized whole food. Two years later, everything has changed.

Extreme makeover

More than 200 years ago, Spanish missionaries brought almond cultivation to California where it flourished into an industry that today produces well over one billion pounds of almonds each year – more than 70 percent of the world’s supply. If you eat an almond in the U.S., it came from California.

Two small outbreaks of salmonella – in 2001 and 2004 – were attributed to raw almonds. To reassure the public that almonds are safe to eat, the Almond Board of California (ABC) proposed a mandatory sterilization of all raw almonds produced in California for U.S. consumption. The USDA agreed, and now almonds labeled as “raw” are either irradiated or chemically treated to create a “pasteurized” almond.

This is like burning down a house to solve a mold problem, because both of these pasteurization techniques deplete nutritional value, and might even trigger grim health problems.

Irradiation exposes food products to extremely high levels of radiation that kill bacteria, parasites and funguses. Animal studies have shown that irradiation may promote chromosome damage, cancer, and other damaging effects.

But the chemical pasteurization process may be even more dangerous.

This technique is called propylene oxide fumigation, which utilizes a chemical compound that the EPA has classified as a probable human carcinogen. And 2008 marks a big year for propylene oxide – exactly 50 years ago food producers began using this chemical to pasteurize nuts, cocoa powder, spices, and other food items. And here’s an interesting note: Propylene oxide was once used in racing fuel, but in 1993 the National Hot Rod Association banned its use because of cancer concerns. And yet this poison is still used to pasteurize foods – EPA and FDA approved!

I would call this a “nutty” plan, but that would just make “insidiously stupid” sound cute.

Could this situation get any worse? Of course.

The FDA has decided that irradiated or propylene oxide fumigated almonds can be labeled as “raw” without notifying consumers that a sterilization process has been used. In other words, we’ve been blatantly betrayed again by the agency that’s supposed to protect us.

Go north

There is some good news here, but it’s precious little for most of us.

Just as dairy farmers are allowed to sell unpasteurized milk directly to customers, almond farmers can sell unpasteurized raw almonds at roadside stands. So if you happen to live near a trustworthy small-scale almond farm, you’re in luck.

And there’s an organic loophole. The ABC and USDA allow organic almond growers to use a steam-heat pasteurization method. This technique also depletes nutrients, but has the clear benefit of not causing cancer in lab rats.

And finally, the Almond Board’s pasteurization mandate doesn’t extend to the millions of pounds of raw almonds that California exports each year. So in the interest of preventing infrequent and isolated salmonella incidents, the ABC offers U.S. consumers a nutritionally anemic nut that just might be dangerous, while our neighbors around the world continue to enjoy authentic raw almonds.

I wonder if the FDA will start cracking down on U.S. citizens traveling to Canada to purchase “foreign” raw almonds?

Sources:
“Pasteurization Nation” Amelia Glynn, Common Ground, April 2008, commongroundmag.com
“Organic Almond Supporters Roast Pasteurization Plan” George Raine, The San Francisco Chronicle, 8/23/07, sfgate.com