The raw deal for almonds

In a blow to raw food fans and organic marketers who serve the niche raw almond market, a federal judge has ruled Monday that requirements for raw almonds to be treated to prevent salmonella must be followed. The USDA set the rule in place in March 2007 by marketing order regulation. Check this previous blog post about the issue and the perspective of the Cornucopia Institute, which disputed the science and the lack of transparency in the rulemaking process. From the McClatchy report:

The ruling issued by U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvell did not directly address the merits of the almond pasteurization standards. Instead, Huvell dismissed largely on technical grounds the complaint filed by Fresno-based farmer Nick Koretoff, Livington-based farmer Cynthia Lashbrook and others.Huvell determined the farmers had failed to exhaust potential administrative remedies. Moreover, the judge said farmers might not have legal recourse even if they could prove the safety rules would cause economic injury."Their fundamental concern is with the impact of the treatment regulation on their ability to sell their almonds in a niche organic market at a premium," Huvelle noted, adding that "the Supreme Court (has) specifically recognized that not every loss would qualify as a deprivation of a definite personal right of the producer."

Later.....

But while rather technical in nature, the 11-page ruling promises real-world consequences in the San Joaquin Valley, which dominates U.S. almond production. Among other things, the Agriculture Department estimates anti-salmonella treatments will add somewhere between two cents and seven cents per pound to the cost of almonds.The 10-member almond board, based in Modesto, administers the federal marketing order by which the $2.5 billion-a-year industry regulates quality control, research and advertising. The board recommended new safety rules in 2006 following incidents of salmonella contamination in 2001 and 2004, and the Agriculture Department subsequently put them in place.The new rules required almond handlers to achieve a stricter reduction in salmonella bacteria count, by pasteurizing the nuts before shipping. Pasteurization methods range from blanching and steam treatments to use of chemicals.

TK: Steam treatments and blanching won't forfeit organic status for almonds, but it is the raw almond that some foodies are in love with. The jilted lover of raw almonds won't give up without a fight, so I don't expect for this to end here.