Big government continues to legislate our diet, dictating our choices in food, more and more NOT for our health and benefit. And I just can’t keep up with it all. Too many laws! And many, like this one, not required to be labeled as such.
This one has evidently been on the books for almost a year, and took effect in Sept. But I am just learning about it.
The raw almonds I now buy aren’t really raw.
In January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that virtually all almonds would have to be pasteurized as of September 1. This new rule was a result of Salmonella outbreaks in 2001 and 2004 that were traced back to raw almonds. – San Fransico Gate
As I’ve reported previously, not only are you losing yet another healthy whole food source, but that very fact is also being hidden from you through the approved use of false labeling, by allowing treated almonds to be labeled and sold as “raw.” – Dr. Joseph Mercola
I was told that the Almond Board of California will not use any heating or radiation to “pasteurize” their almonds. Instead, he [ABC CEO] explained, they will use propylene oxide in their almond “pasteurization” process. In the FDA’s “Guide to Inspections of Manufacturers of Miscellaneous Food Products,” this process is referred to as “terminal gas sterilization.”
Also, in April 2007, the FDA proposed relaxing the labeling requirements, and allowing companies to use the more palatable term "pasteurized", to describe irradiated foods, if the radiation kills germs as well as the pasteurization process does. In essence, this means that almonds may not only be pasteurized, but irradiated. Apparently the term “pasteurized” is an OK substitute for “terminal gas sterilization” as well. If the FDA gets its way, as long as the food looks and smells normal, chances are better than good you won’t ever know whether that specific food has been "nuked,” or “terminally gassed,” or not. – Dr. Joseph Mercola
Propylene oxide is a highly toxic flammable chemical compound. It was once used as a racing fuel, but that usage is now prohibited under the US National Hot Rod rules for safety reasons. It is also used in thermobaric weapons. It is an epoxide. – Wikipedia
Here’s the "good news"? Thanks be to God, there is a loophole which allows the producer to sell directly to the end consumer. So now you must look for "unpasteurized" on the label, not just "raw".
Here are 3 links for sources that are NOT "pasteurizing" their almonds, and are selling direct to end customers. Check them out. The prices may seem high, almonds seem expensive, but they are a nutrition packed food, and these prices are cheaper than from my food co-op/buying club. Organic almonds cost about double non-organic. Only you can determine whether to invest in the extra cost. Organic is definitely better. (I’ll write more on that another day.)
http://www.almonds-from-california.com/cgi-bin/ppcart/ppcart.pl?cat&californiaalmonds
http://organicpastures.com/shop.html
http://www.realrawfood.com/wholesale-raw-nuts.htm#almonds
