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.<\/p>\n
This one has evidently been on the books for almost a year, and took effect in Sept. But I am just learning about it.<\/p>\n
The raw almonds I now buy aren’t really raw.<\/p>\n
\nIn January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced\u00a0 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<\/p>\n
As I\u2019ve 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 \u201craw.\u201d – Dr. Joseph Mercola<\/p>\n
I was told that the Almond Board of California will not use any heating or radiation to \u201cpasteurize\u201d their almonds. Instead, he [ABC CEO] explained, they will use propylene oxide in their almond \u201cpasteurization\u201d process. In the FDA\u2019s \u201cGuide to Inspections of Manufacturers of Miscellaneous Food Products,\u201d this process is referred to as \u201cterminal gas sterilization.\u201d<\/p>\n
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 \u201cpasteurized\u201d is an OK substitute for \u201cterminal gas sterilization\u201d 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,\u201d or \u201cterminally gassed,\u201d or not. – Dr. Joseph Mercola<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Here’s the "good news"?\u00a0 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".<\/p>\n
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.)<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.almonds-from-california.com\/cgi-bin\/ppcart\/ppcart.pl?cat&californiaalmonds<\/p>\n
http:\/\/organicpastures.com\/shop.html<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.realrawfood.com\/wholesale-raw-nuts.htm#almonds<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 \u2026 Continue reading