Paleo Diet: Raw Paleo Diet and Lifestyle Forum
Raw Paleo Diet Forums => Info / News Items / Announcements => Topic started by: livingthelife on November 24, 2008, 10:07:20 pm
-
I just ran into this when I was shopping for nuts... (I guess I'm about 1 year behind the times)
Truly raw almonds now come primarily from Spain.
It's also noted that pasteurized almonds can be labeled as "raw" - any reputable health food company will accurately label their products however.
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.
-
How might this affect the nutrition of the almond, I eat them regularly as they are a good source of vit e and the ones I get are imported from the USA.
-
I'm very leery of polyunsaturated fats that have been altered (oxidized or heated), I think they become dangerously unstable.
I don't know how pasteurization would affect the nutrition of the nut overall. Almonds are much higher in monounsaturated fat than polyunsaturated, so perhaps they are *less* affected by pasteurization than, say, a walnut, which is a poly-fat bomb.
A brief Google search yielded that Vitamin E is destroyed above 60C / 140F, and that the almond board's pasteurization requirements are to bring them to at least 60C / 140F at one point in the process.
So even if you're willing to eat a "cooked" almond for the vitamin E, it doesn't seem that you'll be getting much - if any.
The only truly raw (unpasteurized) almonds I could find from my online nut suppliers are from Spain.
-
Thanks for that. As far as I know the walnuts I buy are not interfered with but are you saying you wouldn't eat them because of their poly content? I thought walnuts were supergood as far as nutrients go.
-
What I meant was that I would consider a pasteurized walnut to be less "safe," chemically, than a pasteurized almond because walnuts are much higher in polyunsaturated fat, which becomes very unstable when heated or oxidized... It was an ID the lesser of 2 evils.
My personal opinion is that organic RAW nuts in small, varied amounts are just fine, and are a good source for some nutrients that don't appear abundantly in other foods.
It's very surprising to find how even the most benign foods have been altered (diminished) in our food supply. Who in their right mind would deliberately destroy all the vitamin E in the US almond production?! It's like bad science fiction.
-
Jaffee brothers has imported raw almonds and may still have some us almonds that got 'in' before the ruling. They're good. I like soaking and rinsing several times over 24 hours, and then after draining let them sit for twelve hours, and then in the fridge. Pretty much a different food at this point.
-
What I meant was that I would consider a pasteurized walnut to be less "safe," chemically, than a pasteurized almond because walnuts are much higher in polyunsaturated fat, which becomes very unstable when heated or oxidized... It was an ID the lesser of 2 evils.
My personal opinion is that organic RAW nuts in small, varied amounts are just fine, and are a good source for some nutrients that don't appear abundantly in other foods.
It's very surprising to find how even the most benign foods have been altered (diminished) in our food supply. Who in their right mind would deliberately destroy all the vitamin E in the US almond production?! It's like bad science fiction.
Gotcha, thanks.