Sludge Watch ==> US plans to require chemical or steam treatment of raw almonds

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludgewatch Admin:

Now how could salmonella be getting into raw almonds?

Hmmm...how about the sludge connection?

Sludge haulers  are allowed to spread sewage sludge on the ground under the 
almond and pistachio trees.  Then the nut crops are harvested by shaking the 
trees till the nuts fall to the ground.

I have personally visited pistachio farms spread with Victor Valley sewage 
sludge in Newberry Springs.

The problem isn't just sludge spreading...but the fact that EPA has been 
allowing sludge processors to claim their sludge is Class A when it does not 
meet the process and testing requirements for Class A.

The EPA allows sludge on pistacio farms with no waiting period...even though 
the method of disinfection is 'solar drying' ... not an approved EPA 
pathogen reduction technique.  So with the EPA Region 5  office allowing 
hinky methods of pathogen disinfection in Kern County and elsewhere in 
California...we have no food safety when it comes to crops grown on sludge.

The big 2004 salmonella outbreak in raw almonds was traced back to a Kern 
County processing plant.

see outbreak story:
http://www.marlerclark.com/news/almonds5.htm


We need safe farm practices...not toxic food treatment.

....................................................

USDA and agribusiness conspire to mislead consumers: 'Raw' almonds must soon 
be steam-heated or treated with toxic chemical
06.apr.07
The Cornucopia Institute press release

Cornucopia, Wis -- Small-scale farmers, retailers, and consumers are 
outraged over a new federal regulation that will require all almonds grown 
in California to be sterilized with various "pasteurization" techniques. The 
rule, which the USDA quietly developed in response to outbreaks of 
Salmonella in 2001 and 2004, traced to raw almonds, mandates that all 
almonds undergo a sterilization process that includes chemical and/or 
high-temperature treatments.

Although the final rule was just published in the Federal Register, The 
Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based farm policy research group, is 
asking the USDA to reopen the proceeding for public comment. Only 18 public 
comments - - all from the almond industry -- were received on the proposal.

"The new rule is unwarranted and could have many harmful impacts," said Mark 
Kastel, senior farm policy analyst at Cornucopia. "The costs of the chemical 
and heat treatments, in addition to the costs of transporting and recording 
the new procedures, will be especially onerous on small-scale and organic 
farmers, and could force many out of business."

Glenn Anderson, a small-scale organic almond farmer in the central valley of 
California, worries that "this could be one more way for the big companies 
and the government to put us small farmers out of business." The equipment 
to sterilize almonds is very expensive. A propylene oxide chamber costs 
$500,000 to $1,250,000, and a roasting line can cost as much as $1,500,000 
to $2,500,000.

Consumers also worry about its impact on the quality and nutrition of 
pasteurized almonds, since the Almond Board of California (a marketing arm 
of the USDA) has conducted the only study on the practice. Their research 
concluded that "there was no significant degradation in the quality" of the 
almonds. "The validity of these findings is questionable given the vested 
interests of the research panel," Kastel stated.

The most common method of sterilizing almonds is by propylene oxide 
fumigation. Propylene oxide is a genotoxic chemical and is listed as a 
possible carcinogen by the International Agency on Cancer Research and has 
been banned for treating food for human consumption in the European Union, 
Canada, Mexico, and most other countries.

More details, a fact sheet, and a sample letter concerned consumers can send 
to the USDA and California Almond Board, can be found on the Cornucopia 
Institute Website: www.cornucopia.org.