Raw Almonds from "Roadside Stands"

Last Thursday, Steven wrote a post about the new pasteurization rule for almonds.

I went to the actual document, The Final Rule for the Mandatory Pasteurization of California Almonds published in the Federal Register as of March 30, 2007.  I discovered an exemption:

Under the program, handlers must subject their almonds to a treatment process or processes that achieve in total a minimum 4-log reduction of Salmonella bacteria, or ship their almonds under one of the two exemptions cited above. The rule only affects those who meet the definition of ‘‘handler’’ in § 981.13 of the order (thus exempting growers selling through roadside stands).

§ 981.13 of the order reads as follows:

Handler means any person handling almonds during any crop year, except that such term shall not include either a grower who sells only almonds of his own production at retail at a roadside stand operated by him, or a person receiving almonds from growers and other persons and delivering these almonds to a handler.

So my question is - Does a farmers market constitute "a roadside stand"?

According to the SF Chron and the Associated Press, it does. The AP article says, however, that growers can face penalties if they're caught selling more than 100 pounds a day to any one person.

I haven't confirmed the practicalities of this supposed farmers market exemption with a grower, but If we truly have an outlet for raw almonds at farmers markets, this is excellent news.

I will append Steven's original post to include this information, and if there are any growers out there, please chime in. ~Carla

Cornucopia Institute Fact Sheet - Mandatory Sterilization of Raw Almonds
CI is one of my favorite advocacy organizations. They are asking that the USDA reopen the comment period which was closed without a single comment from a concerned consumer, retailer, or public interest group.

Comments

[johanna]

hi--a little off subject re: almonds, but ON subject re: pasteurization...
just for everyone's info, i read in this month's veterinary journal that a law is passing, or has passed, that irradiation of foods (this must be animal products, since it was in the AVMA vet journal) will be labelled as 'pasteurized'. special irradiation labelling will only be required ''when irradiation causes a material change in the food that the consumer could not identify at the point of purchase..''
this regulation/law no doubt has come via Codex Alimentarius at the root, as FDA and ''food safety'' phrases are all over the notice. .
i have no doubt that 'organic' will soon include irradiation as well, if Codex, WTO, FDA, and USDA have their way.

[Steven Fineberg]

A nut and dried fruit vendor at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market told me the no spray/no pasteurization rule applies to growers that farm on 20 acres or less.
Steven

[Lisa]

I have been signing petitions for about 20 years now in an attempt to keep irradiation, etc. out of our "food chain"...the word needs to get out there in a big way and the consumer needs to respond!

[Nut-N-Other Farms]

We are almond farmers and we have unpasteurized almonds from our 2007 harvest for sale. You can purchase our unpasteurized almonds at the Sebastopol, CA Farmers Market on Sundays through the end of November, 2007. We have packages of 1 pound, 2 pounds & 5 pounds...$7.00 per pound. We also have 50 pound boxes for those who want a bulk order. For bulk orders, you need to notify us in advance. Under the regulation, we can sell 100 pounds per person per day.
Angelina & John McKinsey
Nut-N-Other Farms

[Susan]

Thank you for putting the info out here. I wrote directly to the Almond Board of CA and never heard a word. I am happy to speak to anyone who will listen about the problem of taking away my right to choose untreated fruits, nuts, veggies etc.

[selmadan]

Here is an editorial about this issue that might be of interst
http://www.california-almonds.com/editorial.htm