The Cracker magazine, January 2009

The Cracker January 2009 V No. 1 The Official Voice of the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council Foundation for the World Nut and Dried Fruit Trade

Monaco Welcomes INC 29-31 May INC NREF Launches Allergy Webinar An Inside Look at U.S. Pistachio Industry *ANUARY s 4HE #RACKER

88 The January• 2009 Cracker The C•raCker SepTember 2005

CONTENTS January 2009 Edition 46 INTERNATIONAL NUT AND DRIED FRUIT COUNCIL FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jack Mariani – Chairman Mariani Nut Company, USA Giles Hacking – Vice-Chairman CG Hacking & Sons Limited, UK Jordi Martí – Treasurer & General Secretary Borges SAU, Spain Asadollah Asgaroladi Hassas Export Co. Ltd., Iran Art Beavis Purtrade - International Marketing Consultants, Australia Remy Berrebi Mincol Ltd., Israel Pino Calcagni V. Besana SPA, Italy Baljit Chadha Balcorp Limited, Canada Helmut Dankert Max Kiene GmbH, Germany Gary Ford Diamond Foods INC, USA Huo Jianguo China Chamber of Commerce, China Erdinç Kapkaç Aegean Exporters Association, Turkey Barry Kriebel Sun-Maid Growers of California, USA John R. Petersen J. R. Petersen LLC, USA Antonio Pont – Honorary President Borges SAU, Spain Sabit Sabir Sabirlar Findik Ihracat Ltd. Sti., Turkey Berton Steir Paramount – Roll International Corp, USA Frank Vaerewijck Q.M. Frank Vaerewijck BVBA, Belgium Kees van de Sandt C. Van de Sandt BV, Netherlands Dick Walden The Green Valley Pecan Company, USA Douglas Youngdahl Blue Diamond Growers, USA Cuneyd Zapsu Balsu AS, Turkey Executive Committee Jack Mariani – Chairman Giles Hacking – Vice-Chairman Pino Calcagni Gary Ford Antonio Pont Douglas Youngdahl Cuneyd Zapsu Goretti Guasch – Executive Director Senators Hubert Berrebi, France John Cardassilaris, Greece Dieter Fels, Germany Raul Gamon, France Chris Hacking, UK Walter F. Payne, USA Abbas Rafii, Luxembourg Don Soetaert, USA James Swink, USA Jack Taillie, Netherlands The Cracker Editorial Committee Jack Mariani – Chairman Susan Brauner, Editor Goretti Guasch, Advertising Sales Steve Wong, Designer

The Cracker

5 World News 2USSIAN BAKERY AND CONFECTIONARY MARKET HUNGER FOR 7ESTERN BREADS COULD SPARK NEW IDEAS FOR USING MORE NUTS .5#)3 'ERMANY CELEBRATES A GOOD YEAR FOR NUT HEALTH NEWS ).# BUILDS POTENTIAL NEW MEMBERSHIP AT 3IAL ADAPTS BETTER STANDARDS FOR NUTS IN 1UALITY 3TANDARDS 7ORKING 'ROUP 18 Australia Nuts for Life Adds $55 Million Value !USTRALIAN PROGRAM DESIGNED TO INCREASE AWARENESS ABOUT HEALTH BENElTS OF NUTS CREATES MILLION OF AWARENESS AMONG SEVERAL CONSTITUENCIES INCLUDING PHYSICIANS

DIETICIANS AND OTHER INmUENCERS 24 INC NREF Launches Allergy Webinar .EW EDUCATION TOOL DEVELOPED BY 5NIVERSITY OF .EBRASKA FOR ).# .2%& IS DESIGNED FOR FOOD MANUFACTURERS WHO WANT TO LEARN HOW TO ADD NUTS TO THEIR PRODUCT LINES USING THE BEST PRACTICES TO ADDRESS FOOD ALLERGY 34 Emerging Markets Offer Best Opportunities 2APIDLY DEVELOPING ECONOMIES ACCOUNT FOR BILLION PEOPLE SLIGHTLY MORE THAN HALF OF THE WORLD S POPULATION IN "RAZIL )NDIA AND #HINA WHERE NUTS AND DRIED FRUIT COULD GAIN MARKET SHARE IF MARKETERS DO THEIR HOMEWORK 35 Monaco Hosts INC Congress 4HE WORLD FAMOUS &RENCH 2IVIERA WILL HOST ).# IN -ONACO -AY 3IGN UP NOW FOR THE PREMIUM SPACE AND GET READY FOR MEMORABLE EVENTS BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES

EVEN POKER TOURNAMENTS 42 U.S. Pistachio Exports Surpass Iran &OR THE lRST TIME 5 3 EXPORT SHIPMENTS SURPASSED )RANIAN PISTACHIO EXPORTS MAKING THE 5 3 THE NUMBER ONE SUPPLIER OF PISTACHIOS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD 4REND EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH CROP YEAR DUE TO FROST IN )RAN 51 World Statistics 'ET UP TO DATE INFORMATION FROM WORLD NUT AND DRIED FRUIT INDUSTRY ON PRODUCTION AND EXPECTED CROP OUTCOME 7ILL THE WORLD ECONOMY AFFECT RECORD CONSUMPTION OR WILL CONSUMERS KEEP NUTS AND DRIED FRUIT ON THEIR PRIORITY SHOPPING LISTS 70 INC NREF Reviews Ambitious 2009 Progams ! COMPLETED DIABETES STUDY IS EXPECTED TO TAKE MORE GOOD NUTRITIONAL NEWS TO CONSUMERS THROUGH VARIOUS PLANNED EVENTS .UTS AND (EALTH 3YMPOSIUM WILL OFFER NUMEROUS SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS ON BEHALF OF NUTS PREPARATION BEGINS FOR POSITIONING NUTS IN 5 3 $IETARY 'UIDELINES

Index INC Ambassadors

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Advertisers

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Nutrition Research

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Legal Deposit: B-7497-1989 Permanent Secretariat of INC Goretti Guasch, Executive Director Calle Boule 2, 3ero, 43201 Reus, Spain Tel: +34 977 331 416 Fax: +34 977 315 028 E-mail: inc@nutfruit.org Web: www.nutfruit.org The Cracker is published three times a year by the International Tree Nut and Dried Fruit Council Foundation (Fundacio Privada International Tree Nut CIF G-43738475). This magazine including all articles and illustrations, is copyright protected. Any utilization beyond the light limits set by the Copyright Act is subject to publisher’s approval.

All trademarks, brand identities and graphic images shown in this publication are the property of their respective owners.

*ANUARY s 4HE #RACKER

Chairman’s Commentary Greetings from Winters, California!

By Jack Mariani, INC Chairman

G

reetings from Winters, California!

To our INC members from 50 countries around the world, I hope that your holidays were full of joy and let’s continue to work toward an even better year in 2009! I would like to share some activities that fill this year full of hope.

As we begin 2009, the treenut and dried fruit industries face both many challenges as well as opportunities. The international financial crisis has made the fourth quarter of 2008 a tremendous concern for many of our commodities. While these challenges will remain for some time, we have numerous opportunities that make our long-range outlook optimistic. These include bountiful supplies, reasonable prices, and an ever-expanding addition of health studies that continue to support our health claim and make it even stronger. Our key opportunity will be to continue to invest in communicating the health benefits of our products to as many global consumers as possible.

In this issue of The Cracker, we feature several stories about how the almond, macadamia, pecan, pistachio and walnut industry are communicating the health message worldwide. We hope that by sharing these marketing plans and the good supportive results we get from physicians, dieticians, the trade and consumers, we can inspire new opportunities as we work together to increase consumption.

We are also introducing our first webinar on nut allergy which is designed to educate food manufacturers and others about how they can develop new nut products safely using very scientific techniques outlined on the website. INC NREF worked in conjunction with Dr. Steve Taylor at the University of Nebraska, the leading institution on this subject, and Dr. Sam Cunningham who collaborated on the project (see page 24). Through knowledge and education, we hope to pro-actively de-mystify the process of addressing the fact that peanuts and treenuts are part of the world’s leading allergic foods. We look forward to feedback from those who take the online course so we can determine other topics that could be addressed.

At the last Executive Committee Meeting, we reviewed the 5-year strategic plan. One of our objectives has been to explore the possibility of making The Cracker Magazine available on the INC web site. We plan to make this issue available online for your convenience. Also, the INC database continues to expand its statistical information. Members are encouraged to visit the members section of the website Nutfruit.org and take advantage of the growing body of market statistics, crop information and health research.

You will also be reading about the outstanding work of the INC Scientific Committee in this issue of the magazine in the NEWS section. INC continues to lead the dialogue for encouraging the European Union to align its regulations for aflatoxin limits equal to the recommendation made with Codex Alimentarius. INC is also participating in the MycoRed project funded by the European Commission. This project develops strategic solutions for reducing contamination by selected foods including aflatoxins in nuts, dried fruits and ochratoxin A in grapes and raisins. These efforts suggest viable strategies to reduce mycotoxins worldwide from the field to the market.

Early registration is now available for the INC Congress scheduled on May 29 to31, 2009, in the Principality of Monaco. Giles and Adam Hacking have arranged a venue in one of the world’s most beautiful locations to host the 28th annual meeting. You will be able to attend the respective working groups and discover the most-timely information on each commodity.

Inspiring speakers include famous Formula 1 race driver David Coulthard and family business adviser Professor Joachim Schwass. From enjoying majestic views of the renowned French Riviera to being able to take poker lessons and compete in a tournament at the famous Monte Carlo Casino, the possibilities are endless! This is not to mention views of the Mediterranean as you play golf or tennis or tasting the local cuisine at the Nicoise cafes and bistros-- this Congress promises something for everyone!

Come a few days early to see one of the worlds most famous racecar events, the Monte Carlo Grand Prix from May 21 to 24. Enjoy one of the most scenic spots on earth while also visiting with most of the nut world in one place--that’s without visiting multiple cities! It should prove to be a memorable few days. See you in Monte Carlo!

Best wishes for a healthy 2009.

Jack Mariani Chairman

C

2 The Cracker • January 2009

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4 The Cracker • January 2009

WORLD NUT & DRIED FRUIT NEWS

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ADA SPEAKS ON REGISTERED DIETICIANS’ ALLERGEN ADVISORY LABELING PRACTICES At the Food and Drug Association’s hearing on allergen advisory labeling, the American Dietetic Association (ADA) was the only witness with statistics and insights on registered dietitians’ use of such labels with consumers and their perceptions of their value and purpose.

The agency is developing a long-term strategy to assist manufacturers to provide allergen advisory labeling that is truthful and not misleading, conveys a clear and uniform message, and adequately informs food-allergic consumers and their caregivers.

Allergen advisory labeling is voluntary and includes statements such as “may contain (allergen).” FDA has advised that adhering to current good manufacturing practices is essential for effective reduction of adverse reactions, advisory labeling should not be used in lieu of adhering to CGMPs. Of the more than 3000 members with clients and patients who have food allergies that responded to an ADA electronic survey, roughly 75 percent report that their patients are now avoiding foods they used to eat because of allergen advisory labeling.

Sixteen percent are aware of patients who have ignored advisory labeling and have suffered an adverse reaction.

More than 70 percent of all ADA respondents (including those who don’t have patients with food allergies) believe that advisory labeling protects consumers and is helpful, and an equal number also believe it protects manufacturers. Less than one-third of the respondents believe that current advisory labeling is truthful or adequately informs clients and that it limits food choices.

NUMBER ONE CONFECTIONER IS NOW MARS Wrigley shareholders have cleared the final obstacle in its merger with US chocolate firm Mars, creating the world’s number one confectionery company. In a deal that creates a 15 billion confectionery behemoth – boasting iconic brands such as Juicy Fruit gum and Milky Way bars in its portfolio – Wrigley is set to become a subsidiary of privately held Mars.

The dynamics of the global confectionery market are set to change, driven by this latest merger that topples UK chocolate maker Cadbury from the number one global confectionery slot.

Consolidation deals in the global food sector are frequent in today’s increasingly challenging global marketplace.

In 2007 market analysts Euromonitor pitched Cadbury with a 10.1 per cent slice of the global confectionery market that includes chocolate, gum and sweets, with Mars in second place at 8.9 per cent, Nestle with 7.7 per cent and both Wrigley and Hershey with 5.5 per cent. Under terms of the Wrigley-Mars merger, Mars will acquire a controlling interest of 80.7 per cent in Wrigley.

Financing for the transaction – that sees Wrigley exist as a standalone subsidiary – will be provided by billionaire Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway firm, investment bank Goldman Sachs Group and JP Morgan Chase. The combined firm will have a portfolio of established brands in six core growth categories: chocolate, nonchocolate confectionery, gum, food, drinks and petcare. Brands include M&Ms, Snickers, Mars, Orbit, Extra and Doublemint.

FOOD ALLERGIES IN ADULTS OVER-REPORTED According to a paper published in the journal Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, between 10 and 20 per cent of people see themselves as suffering from a food allergy, but the real figure may be half this. Cornelia Seitz and her co-workers from Wurzburg University report that of the 419 people with suspected food allergies tested in their study, less than 50 per cent actually had a IgE-mediated food allergy.

The findings show the importance of accurate diagnosis of food allergies, since a non-existent food allergy can lead to needless dietary restrictions. As a result of growing numbers of people with reported food allergies, the “free-from” food market has been enjoying sales growth, with over 300 per cent reported in the UK since 2000, according to market analyst Mintel. The most common food allergen ingredients and their derivatives are cereals containing gluten, fish, crustaceans, egg, peanut, soybeans, milk and dairy products including lactose, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame seed, and sulphites.

Seitz and her co-workers recruited 419 people referred to an outpatient clinic for a suspected food allergy. The researchers tested for the presence of an IgE-mediated food allergy: Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is the predominant antibody associated with an allergic response. Just over 50 per cent of the patients were found to have an IgE-mediated food allergy, report the researchers.

Approximately half of these people had already experienced foodinduced anaphylaxis, they added. However, in the other patients, no IgE-mediated food allergy was found.

“The patient cohort presented in this study came from a university hospital. In 50 per cent of patients who reported a corresponding medical history, a food allergy was detected,” wrote Seitz. “In the other 50 per cent, food allergies were mostly ruled out and exclusion diets therefore became unnecessary,” they concluded.

A recent reported called “Food Allergy Among US Children: Trends in Prevalence and Hospitalizations” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed a worrying rise in the number of young people with a food or digestive allergy in the United States. The CDCP report found that eight types of food account for 90 percent of all food allergies: V milk V eggs V peanuts V tree nuts V fish V shellfish V soy, and, V wheat.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said recently that advisory labelling of allergens in food “may not be protecting the health of allergic consumers”. The FDA is currently developing a long-term strategy to assist manufacturers in using allergen advisory labelling that is “truthful and not misleading, conveys a clear and uniform message, and adequately informs food-allergic consumers and their caregivers”. *ANUARY s 4HE #RACKER

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ORGANIC SWEETS: OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONFECTIONERS New product launches for organic sweets in Europe increased by a factor of six from 2006 to 2008 suggesting confectioners are starting to tap into new organic revenue streams as this burgeoning food trend spills over into confectionery.

Double digit growth rates for the burgeoning 25.8 billion global organic market contrast sharply with estimated market growth of just 2 per cent for the confectionery market in the UK alone. The UK’s Soil Association, proponent of organic food, expects a decent 10 per cent growth for sales of organic products this year, which it says is four to five times higher than average sales growth for the general food market in a good year.

While there is a seemingly constant roll-out of organic chocolate products, these growth figures, it would appear, are encouraging sweet confectioners to move outside of the traditional confectionery domain and into new formulations for organic sweets in order to meet the broadening appeal of organic products. Market analysts Mintel recorded 86 European product launches in the organic sweets arena in the previous 12 months. This figure compares to a diminutive 13 new product launches in Europe for the previous year.

In the US, the picture is the same. Mintel’s product tracking reveals a total of 79 product launches in the past 12 months, nearly three times as many as the 29 launches clocked up for the previous year. In Europe, for example, Danish organic and body care firm Uktekram launched organic wine gums onto the local market, while Milan-based organic company Ecomarket brought organic rice malt sweets to Italian shelves.

Earlier this year, the US trade show All Candy Expo highlighted organic products, along with premium and gourmet, which organisers said were the fastest growing segments in the confectionery and snack markets. In a European consumer survey, market researchers Euromonitor found that half of respondents thought organic food and drink was either important or very important. According to Euromonitor, the organic finished product market is expected to grow by a massive 32 per cent from 2006 to 2011.

FDA OPENS OFFICE IN BEIJING The FDA is opening offices in other countries to improve the monitoring of food exported to the United States. The first office opened in Beijing in mid-November, 2008 and more are planned in Europe, India, Latin America and the Middle East.

In addition to regulating drugs and medical devices, the agency oversees about 80 percent of the nation’s food supply, which includes keeping tabs on tens of thousands of manufacturers in the United States and abroad.

The offices overseas will try to build relationships with foreign regulators and develop information on foreign manufacturers.

4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

RECALL RESPONSE IMPROVING During the past two years, the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued nearly 500 food safety alerts. A recent consumer survey conducted for Deloitte LLP, “Food and Product Safety and Its Effects on Consumer Buying Habits,” found that 58% of respondents who had heard about product safety and/or quality problems changed their buying habits. Consumers turn away from such products for more than nine months, on average, increasing the likelihood that they will discontinue the use of the product or brand entirely.

“Consumers are becoming less tolerant of recalls, with more than 50% changing their product choices,” said Deloitte vice chairman and consumer products practice leader Pat Conroy.

“As these consumers continue to buy different products, product manufacturers can expect lower sales and run the risk of damage to their brands.”

According to new research conducted by Consumer Goods Technology magazine with TraceGains, a product traceability system supplier, 24% of CPGs can currently trace and track a product and issue a 100%-correct recall alert within six to 24 hours, 20% can respond within one and six hours, 12% within one to two days, and 8% within a single hour. However, for another 20%, the response time is between two and five days. Four percent would take five to 10 days, and 12% would take longer than 10 days.

EU POLICY CHANGE COULD DOUBLE CROP PRICES New pest management legislation in Europe could result in crop production shifting to other countries and prices for commodities shooting up, a study has warned. Released by the European Centre for Agricultural, Regional and Environmental Policy Research (EuroCare) the new study says legislation currently being considered in Brussels to reduce the pest management options available to farmers would increase end prices by 20 to 100 per cent.

The legislation would essentially remove a range of pest management tools currently used in agricultural production in Europe. According to EuroCare, this could result in prices for all agricultural produce increasing “substantially” by 2013 as a result of yield losses. A conservative product-loss scenario would result in price increases of at least 20 per cent for staples such as wheat and potatoes, said EuroCare. In the worst case scenario, prices for cereals and vegetables could rise by 73 and 104 per cent respectively.

Another impact of implementing the legislation would be a shift of agricultural production outside of Europe, where similar restrictions do not exist, predicts the report. This would jeopardize the position of the European Union as a net exporter of key crops, and instead make it a net importer of crops, it said.

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4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

WESTERN BREADS SPARK RUSSIAN BAKERY MARKET New high-margin opportunities for bakers continue to open up in Russia as the economy flourishes, fuelling consumer purchasing power and raising demand for western-style breads and confections.This bodes well for dried fruit and nuts as an ingredient. According to the World Bank’s June 2007 report, the strengthening of the ruble and stable growth in personal incomes are expected to help expand the retail market’s size to 510bn by 2011.

A key driver in the growth of consumer goods - of which food products represent a significant slice - is the staggering upward curve in consumer buying power. Recent figures from investment bank Lehman Brothers reveal that, while in 2002 Russians earned about $160 per month, today they earn $540. And while the Russian bakery sector is currently seeing absolute growth dawdling at one to two per cent year-on-year, the market for high-margin western-style products shows promising gains.

Russians consume, on average, about 100 kilos of bread per annum. Traditional Russian, dark bread - that for bakers only rakes in a low 3 per cent margin - still dominates the market.

But as consumer desire for western-style products evolves, so do opportunities for higher-margin products. The Russian bakery market is made up of about 1000 bread factories, each producing between 30 to 50 tons a day, with 10,000 further small and medium-sized businesses contributing to the market.

The Russian confectionery market is also expected to grow as the chocolate is expected to increase by over 15 percent in volume between 2007 to 2010. Overall, strong macroeconomic conditions in Russia continue to attract interest from foreign firms, including those hailing from the food sector. Foreign investment for the first half of 2007 totalled $67bn, according to Russia’s daily online site Kommersant, compared to $14bn in Poland for 2006.

A multitude of western European supermarkets have already entered the burgeoning Russian market, and the French retail giant Carrefour announced it is set to open its first hypermarket there at the beginning of 2009. The firm said it will invest $100m as part of its project in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia.

CHOCOLATE INDUSTRY SPEARS OPPORTUNITIES IN BOOMING RUSSIAN MARKET Two major confectionery players have announced inroads into Russia, demonstrating that cocoa ingredients suppliers and their customers are seeking to spear fresh wins in Russia’s emerging, and burgeoning, confectionery market. Leading pod-to-pallet chocolate player Barry Callebaut has unveiled its latest chocolate academy in Chekhov, Russia, while confectionery and chocolate maker Ferrero announces it will break ground on a 91m chocolate facility in the country.

Both firms will tap into a surging Russian chocolate confectionery market expected to grow annually, on average, by a considerable 15.3 per cent in value and 5.4 per cent in volume between 2007 and 2012, according to figures from market researchers Euromonitor. These healthy figures shadow the diminutive 2 to 3 per cent growth rate for the global chocolate market.

Mirroring the same pattern as China, as consumer spending power increases, so does the desire for goods. According to investment bank Lehman Brothers, in 2002, Russians earned about $160 per month, while today they earn $540.

Zurich-based Barry Callebaut, said its first chocolate academy in Russia will offer “a diverse range of seminars, demonstrations, theoretical courses and practical workshops” designed “to inspire” a range of chocolate users, including confectioners, bakers and caterers. The goal is to triple sales to russia in three years.

Adding that growth in the chocolate market in Russia is defined by a shift in consumer preference “towards high-quality premium products”, Callebaut believes that the academy can respond to the trend “by helping chefs enhance their chocolate-making skills.”

“Russia’s middle class is expanding rapidly – also outside the urban centres of Moscow and St Petersburg. This is leading to a strong increase in the country’s overall chocolate consumption,” they said. The training centre is located on the premises of the Barry Callebaut chocolate factory in Chekhov, 60 km south of Moscow.

The UK’s Financial Times recently revealed that US confectionery group Mars said Russia will soon be its third-biggest chocolate market after the US and UK.

January 2009 • The Cracker 9

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4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

NATIONAL PECAN SHELLERS ASSOCIATION HOLDS BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTIONS The National Pecan Shellers Association re-elected three members and elected three others to serve on the Board of Directors during the NPSA Annual Meeting held September 18-20 in San Francisco, CA. Buddy Adams of San Saba Pecan, Inc.; Jasper Sanfilippo Jr. of John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. and Terri Lynn Schuck of Terri Lynn, Inc. were re-elected to new two-year terms. Jerry Fogle of Golden Kernel Pecan Co.; Tim Tarver of Mascot Pecan Shelling Co., Inc; and Larry Willson of Sunnyland Farms, Inc. were also elected to serve two-year terms. David Salopek of David Salopek Farms LC was re-elected by the Board of Directors to serve a new two-year term as the affiliate representative.

The 2008 NPSA Annual Meeting was one of the Association’s most informative meetings to date.

Dr. Lenny Wells of the University of Georgia and Dr. Richard Heerema of New Mexico State University showed NPSA members how growers are dealing with the rising cost of energy and presented a comprehensive breakdown of grower costs. They also explained the differences between the Western and Southeastern region in terms of costs.

Pam Ross of Information Resources, Inc. offered insight into consumer trends and explained how members should position their products in today’s market.

Maureen Ternus of the International Tree Nut Council’s National Research and Education Foundation delivered a full report on the latest health research initiatives involving tree nuts (including pecans).

Brenda Cannon of John B. Sanfilippo and Son, Inc. walked through a mock product recall and offered members tips and suggestions for setting up a mock recall at their plants.

The National Pecan Shellers Association (NPSA) is dedicated to preserving, representing and promoting the interests of the pecan industry – in a strong and unified voice – to government, media, food industry, health professionals and consumers.

INTERNATIONAL HONEY SUPPLY THREATENED BY BEE PROBLEMS Urgent action is required by the UK government to help prevent drastic declines in bee numbers, while global concerns of honey supply shortage for consumers and industry increases. Stuart Bailey of Rowse, a leading UK packager and supplier of honey, says it has joined with commercial and amateur bee keeping associations to call for £8,000,000 (about $14,000,000) in financial assistance from the government to research bee health and protect honey supplies and crop pollination.

Across Europe and North America, bee populations are under threat, which is not only affecting the availability and cost of honey, but the pollination of crops such as oil seed rape, fruits and vegetables. Bailey said an estimated 25 percent of bee colonies in the UK died last winter due to various climatic and disease issues, requiring immediate action from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

In the UK alone, Bailey claimed that a combination of factors such as the varroa mite parasite and wet weather that confined bees to hives and changing agricultural patterns were all detrimental to the industry. He added that UK bee farmers provided about 3,000 to 5,000 tones of honey a year, amounting to a small fraction of the total requirements at consumer and industrial level for food formulation.

A spokesperson for Defra said it shared the views of stakeholders within the honey production chain, but could not act before completing its review of a recent consultation on a ten-year bee health strategy proposal. The vital role bees have in producing honey and pollinating agricultural and horticultural crops, are forcing the department to add resources that would be supplied to investigate issues like colony loses, but a clear strategy was required.

“What is most important is that we have a clear understanding of disease threats and how to tackle them,” the spokesperson stated. “That is why we are developing a bee health strategy which will set out the objectives and priorities for the bee health program over the next ten years.”

In working with groups such as the British Beekeepers’ Association (BBKA) and the Bee Farmers Association (BFA), the company says it hopes to form an independent research organization to focus on global supply. Rowse says that these supply concerns have been reflected in current global prices for honey, claiming its own costs having risen by 60 per cent over the last year. In Argentina for example, currently the largest honey exporter to the UK, a 20,000 ton shortfall in output is expected in 2008 from over the same period last year. Poor weather at the end of 2007 and larger pasture areas of soybeans are thought to be the main contributors to the fall.

! " " !

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*ANUARY s 4HE #RACKER

WORLD NUT & DRIED FRUIT NEWS

5

4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

NUCIS GERMANY FOUNDATION: A SUCCESSFUL YEAR 2008 Looking back on the past year NUCIS expanded its activities in various directions. Nucis took an active part in two international congresses and one national congress and provided information and free samples of nuts at its information booths. Visitors were especially interested in the difference on nutritional value of various kinds of nuts. They received well-grounded advice from the scientific staff and comprehensive brochures.

The international three-countrycongress, initiated by the German, Swiss and Austrian Nutrition Associations, DGE, SGE, OEGE, invited health professionals from Europe to Zurich, Switzerland. The topic of the congress was lifelong enjoyable and healthy eating. Here the information of Nucis was very welcome as there is no other organisation providing information.

Nucis in Zurich Eminently respectable experts reported on latest scientific findings in the field of nutrition on the congress for nutritional medicine “Nutrition 2008”, held in Hamburg.

Three of the leading German associations for nutrition, VDOE, VDD, BDEM, held their national meeting in Hamburg Wolfsburg, Germany in April 08. The focus of interest was how demographic changes will have an impact on quality of life and nutritional demands, including challenges for nutrition consultation.

NUCIS regularly publishes scientific reports on their homepage that summarize the latest findings concerning various advantages of adding nuts to a well-balanced diet. NUCIS has also provided lectures to experts in the field of nutrition, e. g. at the University of Applied Sciences in Muenster. As a good source of information NUCIS is increasingly appreciated by health professionals.

Our research project in cooperation with the Friedrich-SchillerUniversity of Jena came out with promising intermediate data and we intend to present it at the INC Congress in Monte Carlo this year.

Editor’s Note: please note a correction to the September, 2008 Nucis article on page 84. PD Dr. Michael Glei (right) will lead the gut health study on nuts, not Dr. Pool-Zobel.

KIDS SEEING FEWER SNACK-FOOD ADS Young kids in America saw 25% fewer food, beverage and restaurant ads during kids’ shows in 2007 than they did in 2004. That’s according to a study commissioned by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Association of National Advertisers. The study was based on Nielsen Media Research ratings and updated a similar study in 2004, according to the ANA. The biggest decline from 2004 was in ads for candy and soft drinks in shows targeted toward kids 2-11. The study concluded that there were 99% fewer ads for diet soft drinks from 2004-07; a 98% decrease in ads for cookies, candy and snacks; and 97% fewer ads for soft drinks. By contrast, there was a 400% increase in ads for fruit and vegetables on kids’ TV and a 135% increase in ads for fruit and vegetable juices.

But whatever is being advertised, TV remains the dominant place for it, at least in traditional forms. Paid Internet advertising gets only a fraction (2%) of that spent on TV, while outdoor advertising gets only 3% of the dollars TV gets. That had to have an impact on ad spending. According to the study, conducted by Georgetown Economic Services, expenditures on food, beverage and restaurant advertising fell by 6.1% in 2007 from 2004. In 2005, major food marketers agreed to limit advertising of snack foods to kids and promote healthier food and lifestyle choices.

GLOBAL SHOPPER STUDY SAYS 30% CHOOSE A BRAND IN THE STORE Thirty percent of shoppers around the world wait until they’re actually in the store to decide which brand they’ll buy, according to a new global study released by the Ogilvy Group. The study was based on more than 14,000 shopper interviews conducted in 700 retail outlets across 24 markets worldwide. It spanned five retail channels across six product categories, to examine how shopper decisions differ across channels, product categories, and brands; and also how those decisions vary by nation and shopper profile. Ogilvy Group said its report, “Shopper Decisions Made In-Store,” goes beyond the old statistic that 70 percent of purchase decisions are made in store. Findings include: One in 10 shoppers change their minds in the store and buy a different brand than the one they had planned to purchase. Almost 20 percent of shoppers will buy from categories they had no intention of buying from before entering the store. In the United States, almost one in five shoppers leaves a product they planned to buy on the shelf and walk away empty-handed, representing tens of millions of dollars in new purchases up for grabs by marketers. C

Post Office Box 5365 • 2020 Esplanade Chico, California 95927-5365 (530) 894-5441 • Fax (530) 894-0233 almonds@chiconut.com

• The Cracker 13 September 2005 January • the2009 CraCker 33

NEWS FROM INC...

UNECE WORKING PARTY ON AGRICULTURAL QUALITY STANDARDS 64th Session of the Working Party on Agricultural Quality Standards Geneva, Switzerland 3-6 November 2008

The INC participated in the 64th Session of the Working Party on Agricultural Quality Standards, held in Geneva.

Representatives of Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, UK, USA, the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Program, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) attended the meeting.

The Working Party adopted: a) Revised standard layout for dry and dried produce as new standard layout; b) New standard on dried peaches; c) Revised text on pistachios kernels and peeled pistachio kernels, blanched almond kernels, hazelnut kernels, and the 2002 version of the Standard on Inshell Wal nuts as recommendations on trial through 2009; d) New texts on inshell macadamia nuts and macadamia kernels as recommendations on trial use through 2010.

The Working Party also approved the color gauge for walnut kernels, presented by the delegation of the USA. This color gauge supplements the UNECE Standard for Walnut Kernels (DDP-02) and is recommended for use throughout the food industry. During the meetings, the Working Party revised the brochure on hazelnuts presented by the Turkish delegation.

14 The Cracker • January 2009

Revised Standard Layout for UNECE Standards on Dry and Dried Produce: The Working Party adopted the revised text of the Standard Layout as a new Standard Layout. The delegation of France indicated that they would submit a request for revision, according to their consultation with the French Food Safety Agency (AFSSA).

New Standard for Dried Peaches: The Working Party adopted the amended text of the UNECE Standard for Dried Peaches.

Revised Standard for Pistachio Kernels and Peeled Pistachio Kernels: The text for a new standard for pistachio kernels and peeled pistachio kernels was returned to the Specialized Section on Standardization of Dry and Dried Produce to consider the comments by France on the table of tolerances. The trial period of the recommendation was extended until the end of 2009.

Extension of Recommendations for Blanched Almonds Kernels: The Working Party adopted the revised text of recommendations for blanched almonds kernels for trial use until the end of 2009.

Extension of Recommendations for Hazelnut Kernels: The Working Party adopted the revised text of recommendations for hazelnut kernels for trial use until the end of 2009.

Revised Standard of Inshell Walnuts: The Working Party recommended extending the trial period of the 2002 version of the Standard on Inshell Walnuts through 2009, since there was no agreement to approve it.

New Standards for Inshell Macadamia Nuts and Macadamia

Kernels: The Working Party adopted the new texts on inshell macadamia nuts and macadamia kernels for trial use until the end of 2010.

THE INC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETS IN PARIS

The INC Executive Committee met on October 17th, 2008, in Paris, to discuss INC’s recent activities and developments, preparations for next year’s XXVIII World Nut & Dried Fruit Congress, targets for the year 2009, and the 2012 Strategic Plan.

The agenda also included a follow-up of the Foundation financial status, the membership situation and a revision of the INC SubCommittees (Audit Committee, Membership and Ambassadors’ Committee, Editorial and Statistics Committee, Congress Committee and the Scientific and Government Affairs Committee).

INC AT SIAL PARIS: BIG SUCCESS! INC participated in SIAL PARIS 2008, one of the largest food & beverage trade shows in Europe and very popular among importers and exporters of agricultural products around the world. SIAL PARIS was held from 19th to 23rd October 2008, at Paris Nord Villepinte French Exhibition Center and attracted visitors and exhibitors from across the globe. According to the organization,the trade show gathered 5.500 exhibitors, among them 4.300 international exhibitors (78%) from 104 countries. Six hours before the exhibition closed, SIAL announced more than 145.000 visitors, 55% from outside France!

INC’s participation at SIAL PARIS was a resounding success. The INC had a booth located in the “Fruits and Legumes” hall, surrounded by other exhibitors related to the nut and dried fruit sector. The number of visitors who came to the booth surpassed INC’s expectations. INC’s booth received more than 180 visitors and gathered more than 150 references and business cards, among INC members and new contacts. Many brochures and informative materials were distributed at the show, such as the “Go Nuts Go Healthy” pamphlet, the “Health In Every Handful” brochure, and the Annual Report of Activities.

The trade show provided a great opportunity to reach new business contacts, while meeting INC members. During 5 intensive days the INC had the chance to provide visitors with valuable information about nuts and dried fruits, to promote the INC activities and the “XXVIII World Nut and Dried Fruit Congress” to be held in 2009 in Monaco. C

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS FOR A SAMPLE TO BE TESTED, PLEASE CONTACT:

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USA, Latin America Satake USA Inc. 10905 Cash Road Stafford, TX 77477 Tel: 281-276-3600 Fax: 281-494-1460

USA West Coast Satake USA Inc.

3416 Oakdale Road Modesto, CA 95355 Tel: 209-551-3203 Fax: 209-551-0841

Europe, Africa, The Middle East

Asia

ESM (UK) Ltd. P.O. Box 47, Horsfield Way Stockport, Cheshire SK6 2FN(England) Tel: (44) 161-406-3888 Fax: (44) 161-406-3889

Satake Corporation 2-30 Saijo Nishihonmachi Higashi-Hiroshima Japan 739-8602 Tel: +81-824-20-8539 Fax +81-824-20-0865

2009 • The Cracker September 2005January • the CraCker 65 15

ABC Creates Impression at 14th World Congress in Shanghai ABC had a comprehensive presence at the conference and created a lasting impression with over 2200 food technologists from 74 countries last October in Shanghai.

ABC sponsored activities included the award ceremony for ABC/Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology (CIFST) student almond product innovation competition (featured as part of the conference opening ceremony), an exhibit booth, 4 speeches in technical sessions, and 5 posters on almond quality safety, technical and nutrition research

by ABC staff and researchers.

ABC was one of twelve industrial sponsors officially recognized by the organizers and the only US organization to receive an official recognition at the closing ceremony.

First Prize

Second Prize

Third Prize

Almond Milk Egg Rolls An innovative and commercially ready winning product with four flavors was invented by students from Fuzhou University. The product was an adaptation of a traditional Chinese snack with 38% diced almonds in formulation. Other ingredients include sugar, wheat flour, maltose, milk powder.

Almond Leisure Pop An integration of roasted almonds with puffed mixed whole grains was invented by students from China Agricultural University.

The formulation utilized almond butter and other ingredients to hold puffed mixed grains with a whole roasted almond kernel on top of the mixed grain disc to showcase almonds (54% almond usage).

Smiling Almonds A combination of a roasted blanched whole almond with dried mini tomatoes was invented by students from Tianjin University of Science and Technology. The product showcased whole blanched almond kernel with dried tomato paste, sugar, and white chocolate. C

16 The Cracker • January 2009

January 2009 • The Cracker 17

Australian “Nuts For Life” Adds $55 million in Value to Industry

By Lisa Yates Program Manager and Advanced Accredited Practicing Dietitian Nuts for Life has scored big gains in 2007-08 from previous years. Our goals were: to raise the awareness of the health benefits of tree nuts to new health professional targets Naturopaths, Home economists/ Food Technology teachers and consumers; and to continue to consolidate the nut health knowledge of cardiologists, GPs, practice nurses, dietitians and fitness leaders and media; reduce misinformation about tree nuts and increase tree nut consumption by 5% pa.

The campaign is made up of four programs with a number of activities under each program that included regulatory affairs; health professional program; consumer program and industry program.The results of these programs are summarized below: Regulatory Affairs Program 2007-08 saw a rise in regulatory affairs with a number of submissions generated: Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) submitted the final draft of their Nutrient and Health claims standard for approval to the Australian Government Ministerial Council. Nuts for Life met with a senator and staff at FSANZ including the CEO to ensure all nuts were eligible to make claims.The Council has requested another review of the draft standard to be submitted in 2009.

As a result of our meeting we were also invited to submit comments to the FSANZ’s Allergen labeling review.The Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is also reviewing what constitutes a core food in the lead up to the review of the Dietary Guidelines for Australians in 2009 and Nuts for Life provided a submission. Nuts for Life also commented on The Australian Government House of Representatives Obesity Inquiry outlining concerns about front of pack labeling. It was essential that the Australian Nut Industry submitted responses on these issues to ensure nuts would not be forgotten and not considered in the noise of many other nutrition issues raised by industry groups and companies.

4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

Health Professional Program The Nuts for Life Health Professional program continues to be the main focus of the campaign as the majority of our funding can only used to fund activities in this area. Activities under this program included: V Health professional market research V Conferences and events V Development and distribution of resources V Nuts for Life website Health Professional Market Research Consumer Insights were once again engaged to conduct our biennial health professional market research to ensure Nuts for Life is reaching our goal of consolidating nut health knowledge of key health professional groups and introducing nut health information to our new health professional target groups.

Results using physicians as benchmark 2003 2005 Drs who believe there is a role for nuts in a healthy daily diet 12 60

2008 64%

Drs who believe nuts can help manage blood cholesterol

24

59

68%

Drs who thought nuts were important for prevention of heart disease

63

77

93%

Drs who believe nuts have a positive effect on weight

18

41

56%

Doctors still have concerns over nuts and weight management which will continue to be a focus of the 08/09 campaign.

Dietitians and naturopaths both have similar views with 84% and 76% respectively recommending nuts be included in a healthy daily diet and the vast majority of both groups are also aware of the positive effects nuts have on cholesterol lowering and heart disease. Fitness professionals require further information in areas of heart disease and weight management.

www.nutsforlife.com

The goal for Nuts for Life in future campaigns is to turn these health professionals, who acknowledge that nuts are healthy, into advocates for nuts - actively encouraging their patients and clients to eat nuts. A change in key messaging from “nuts are OK” to “nuts are vital for health” may help spark this change.These positive results are due to the activities following.

Conferences and Events Nuts for Life has participated in 20 health professional conferences/seminars this financial year reaching 6,900 health professionals. With trade exhibits, event sponsorships, satchel inserts and poster and speaker sponsorships and workshops this activity continues to be a successful method for engaging our health professional target audience and distributing our resources and nut samples.

Events Include: V State and National Dietitians Association of Australia events V Natural Therapies Expo Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne V Australian Society for the Study of Obesity V 50th Annual Royal Australian College of General Practice Conference V Victor Chang Cardiology seminar V Home Economic Institute of Australian branch events V GPCE Sydney and Australian Practice Nurses Conference V Smartshape Personal Trainer seminars V Australian Medical Student Association Convention Melbourne

www.nutsforlife.com.au The Nuts for Life website continues to be expanded with new resources, scientific abstracts and materials for contributors.

As a result website statistics show 16,580 unique visitors to Nuts for Life website from 1 July 2007 to 30th June 2008 with ~895,000 hits over this time.The number of visitors has increased by 47% and hits by 62% over the previous year. 20% of media clips mention the Nuts for Life website and a spike in the hits is seen the month of, and the month following, a conference event. A search engine optimization strategy was developed and implemented which makes Nuts for Life in the top three entries when searching for nuts and health.

Consumer and Media Program The Nuts for Life Consumer Program continues to promote the health benefits of nuts to consumers via the media.

Activities included a public relations campaign and promotional activities with the Food Media Club of Australia.

Consumer Market Research Consumer Insights undertook our next round of consumer benchmarking study and found that consumer knowledge on nuts and health is increasing. Whether this is solely due to the activities of Nuts for Life is hard to assess however it is likely Nuts for Life is having some effect. Results include:

The participants in the 2008 study indicated that there has been an increase in snacking of nuts within the broad category of ‘at least monthly’: i.e. daily, weekly, fortnightly and monthly. In 2003, this broad category totaled 54%; in 2005 it RESOURCES development and distribution was 61% and in 2008 it has reached 67%.There is a consistent We continued to develop new resources to support the trend towards an increase in nut snacking with ‘at least Campaign during the 2007/08 year - The Role of Nuts in fortnightly’ snacking increasing from 40% in 2003 to 48% in Heart Health was written by Kate Marsh, PhD Candidate 2008.The ‘I don’t snack on nuts’ category declined from 19% and Advanced Accredited Practicing Dietitian with 12,000 in 2003 to 12% in 2008. copies distributed to date. Around 27,000 of all Nuts for There is a trend towards increasing usage of nuts in Life brochures were distributed in 2007/08 via conference cooking.The broad category of cooking with nuts ‘at least satchels, trade exhibitions, Samples Plus direct mail program to monthly’ included 48% of the 2008 cohort, compared to 40% physicians, journals and newsletters. of the 2005 survey and 23% of the 2003 group.This may be explained by the increase in recipes using nuts in magazines Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition illustrated here.

A summary of our brochure 76% of consumers in 2008 are aware nuts are important The Role of Nuts in Weight for heart disease prevention compared to 24% in 2003. Only Management was 30% of consumers think nuts have a positive effect on weight submitted to and which has increased from 20% in 2003.They are still confused published by the over good fats vs. bad fats and which fats cause weight Asia Pacific Journal gain and effect cholesterol.This offers us opportunities for of Clinical Nutrition education in our 2008/2009 PR campaign. in the December 2007 issue. DAA National Conference also accepted it as a poster presentation that Nuts for Life sponsored.

– Continued on page 20

*ANUARY s 4HE #RACKER

– Continued from page 19

Public Relations Campaign Porter Novelli Melbourne was reappointed as the Nuts for Life Consumer PR agency with a new program which included: Bimonthly media releases, Key opinion leader mail outs and development of a Nut Allergy Issue Management Manual for contributors.

Bimonthly Media Releases Each of the 6 bimonthly media releases were distributed to short and long lead media with a focus on long lead media including magazines.

V Go Nuts this Festive Season entertaining release (Sept/Nov 2007) V Go nuts on Australia Day release (Oct/ Nov/ Dec 2007) V Give a handful of love this Valentine’s Day release (Oct/ Nov/ Dec 2007) V A handful of nuts each day keeps the cravings at bay Weight management release highlighting Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition article on nuts (April 2008) V Share the Gift of Good Health This Mothers Day Mothers Day/Heart Week release (March/April 2008) V New Health News About Nuts From Around the Globe release (June 2008)

Comprehensive media monitoring has resulted in 107 articles (a similar number to 2006/07) on nuts and health in health, food and women’s print and web outlets with 47 in long lead media, generating an estimated 16 million impressions based on circulation.These results are satisfactory for a mature product in the second year of a PR campaign and in a busy segment such as nutrition with many competing voices.

Quirky angles and cute images helped place these nut health stories.

4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

Key Opinion Leader Mail Out Word of mouth is a powerful promotional tool and to generate positive word of mouth about nuts our consumer PR program reached 200 top Australians (including key media) twice in 2007/08.This happened at the beginning of December 2007 with a Christmas gift and again in May 2008 for Heart Week with five Tupperware containers of nuts to highlight the “handful of nuts at least five times a week” message.

Nut Allergy Issues Management Manual Porter Novelli researched and drafted an Issue Management Manual on Nut Allergy for contributors.This is to help contributors to address any nut allergy media requests should they arise and ensures the industry is using similar appropriate messages. Nuts for Life also continues to support the Food Allergen Bureau activities.

Food Media Club Awards Night (Sept 2008) and Launch (March 2008) Nuts for Life took a naming rights sponsorship at the Food Media Club of Australia Awards Night – naming the Nuts for Life Best Food Section in a Newspaper Metro or Regional which was won by two Victorian newspapers including The Age in Melbourne. FMCA is a group of professionals with an interest in food.The majority are food writers, recipe developers, home economists, food stylists, dietitians and food promotion agencies. Consolidating the relationship we have built with this group after the 2007 nut health education session we ran will help remind them of who Nuts for Life is when our media releases hit their desks.

Magazine Recipe Review A review of the number and type of nuts being used in recipes seemed appropriate since consumers noted they are cooking with more nuts because more recipes are including nuts.

PR results have also noted that recipes with great images get our key nut health messages published. April and May 2007 and 2008 issues of food, health and women’s magazines were collected to assess and compare the number of recipes using nuts and which nuts were most popular.

– Continued on page 22

Today, Hilltop Ranch brings California almonds to you!

Hilltop Ranch, Inc. 13890 Looney Road Ballico, CA 95303 USA Tel. 1.209.874.1875 Fax 1.209.874.1877 Contact: Paul Ewing, Dir. of Sales Email: almonds@hilltopranch.com Product of USA

January 2009 • The Cracker 21

– Continued on page 20

Nuts for Life Industry Program Nuts for Life continues to support contributors and promote nuts to food industry through a variety of activities.

Nut Industry Statistics - Australian Nut Consumption Continues to Increase 2003-08 In the five years since the Nuts for Life program commenced, Australian nut consumption has increased 22% in value and 39% in quantity.This represents annual compound growth of 4.1% and 6.9% respectively. Nuts for Life was set a goal to increase nut sales by 5% compound growth annually. With the Australian population growing at about 1% per annum and nuts being a mature product, a 5% growth rate is a substantial target. Price declines due to the strong AUD in 2006-08 prevented making the goal for dollars but the strong growth in volumes show the underlying strength in demand. For an investment of about $1.2 million over the five years, the Australian nut industry has seen an increase of over $55 million in value, at trade prices.

Industry Conferences and Events Nuts for Life is committed to supporting contributors as nut suppliers to the greater food industry.The following activities were undertaken to fulfill this goal.

Nuts for Life Annual General Contributors Meeting 30th October 2007 Our education session: What exactly can we say on food labels? – an information session for Nuts for Life contributors attracted 30 contributors to Sydney and began with an update from Food Standards Australia New Zealand on the nutrition and health claims draft standard and followed by Dr Linda Tapsell, University of Wollongong, Smart Food Centre discussing how to substantiate food label claims and why having one research paper is not enough. We ended with a lawyer discussing how to pushing the nutrition and health claims envelop – what claims can be said on pack now without breaching food law.

Conference Trade Sponsorships Nuts for Life had a presence at Confectionery Manufacturers of Australasia Technical conference and the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology National Conference with satchel inserts highlighting how Nuts for Life is supporting nut suppliers.

National Heart Foundation Relationship Building Activities Nuts for Life continues to build a relationship with the National Heart Foundation. We liaised with them on submissions for regulatory affairs issues, discussed how the industry can use the NHF Pick the tick logo on pack as well as assisted the NHF through provision of nutrient data on nut bars for the review of the PTT nutrient criteria in the nut bar category.

Source:The best available data at an economic cost to measure nut consumption is the quantity supplied to trade at trade prices. This method tends to be “lumpy” because it does measure inventory changes. It also measures prices at trade rather than retail.This data is obtained from some ABS published data plus some industry knowledge, much of it proprietary.

Nuts for Life is indebted to Scalzo Food Industries who compiles this series with the assistance of several industry members who are prepared to share their proprietary insights into published data.

The heavy weight lines show the actual annual results.The light weight lines show the linear trend over the five years.

22 The Cracker • January 2009

Nuts for Life has successfully achieved our goals of commencing to raise the awareness of the health benefits of tree nuts to new health professional targets: naturopaths and home economists/ food technology teachers, while consolidating the knowledge of cardiologists, physicians, practice nurses, dietitians and fitness leaders. Our target consumer audience have been reached by direct contact with Nuts for Life, through the media and indirectly through health professionals.This has lead to reduced misinformation about tree nuts and a greater volume of nuts sold. C

Fig. 1. At Borges, we know that no two almonds are the same.

3 mm.

53 mm.

21,5 mm.

61 mm.

ø

54,3 mm.

2,4 mm.

21,5 mm.

42 mm.

ø

42,6 mm.

- Shelled nut weight: 1 to 2 grams.

- Nut weight with shell: 5 to 8 grams.

Weight, diameter, length, thickness, packaging, price … At Borges we seek and select the best option for your Company's needs, taking into account a whole range of criteria. We are backed by 40 years' experience exporting almonds to over 60 countries. Our processes are endorsed by the leading certificates (HACCP, ISO 9002 and ISO 14001). If what you're looking for is expertise and specialisation, if you need an immediate answer to year-round demand with the best value for money, if you're seeking cooperation throughout the whole process, trust in Borges.

BORGES, S.A. - Flix, 29 - 43205 REUS, Spain.

Tel. No. +34 977 30 90 00- info@borges.es - www.borges.es

January 2009 • The Cracker 23

INC NREF LAUNCHES ALLERGY WEBINAR TO ASSIST WITH FOOD SAFETY ISSUES

Dr. Steve Taylor Department of Food Science and Technology University of Nebraska

24 The Cracker • January 2009

The International Tree Nut Council focus on food allergy.

Nutrition Research and Education Diagnosis of tree nut allergy is Committee(INC NREF) launched its problematic and conclusive tests required first webinar last December designed to determine if a patient has a true allergy to address allergy issues for a variety carry significant risk, and currently of potential users. The webinar will there is no cure for tree nut allergy. Tree proactively address the fact that tree nut nuts are one of the major food allergens and other allergies are increasing and that can cause severe and fatal allergic a critical need exists to provide basic reactions to foods, and such reactions knowledge and tools about occur most frequently allergy to food workers and in atopic adolescents handlers. with a history of “Since risk Written and formatted asthma who’ve had of a severe

by Dr. Steve Taylor, mild reactions to the Department of Food offending allergen allergic Science and Technology in the past. Severity at America’s leading of the reaction is reaction, allergy institution at the unpredictable. including University of Nebraska, Peanuts and/or tree and Dr. Sam Cunningham, nuts are responsible death, is a Ph.D., the webinar will for about 94% of the increase knowledge about food allergy fatalities potential the seriousness of tree in the US. Over 3.2 outcome from nut allergy by discussing million Americans methods of allergen control are allergic to peanuts exposure that can prevent inadvertent and/or tree nuts. Total exposure and reduce food deaths due to foodto tree nut safety hazards in our food induced anaphylaxis allergens for supply. are estimated to be at There is an increasing least 150-200 deaths per those who need for more education year, but reliable data as a result of the Food is not available and it have tree Allergy Labeling and could be much higher. nut allergy, Consumer Protection Act Experts acknowledge (FALCPA), enforced in that over half of those the need for the U.S. in 2004. This law, that die each year has generated increased from allergen-induced education is focus on food allergens to anaphylaxis received critical.” protect consumers. Food no education about allergy is a specialized food allergy and that field of immunology improved education with a substantial body of knowledge is needed particularly to those at risk, about mechanisms of allergic reaction, doctors, and the food industry. diagnosis and treatment, and the Since risk of a severe allergic reaction, importance of genetics on safety risk. The including death, is a potential outcome American Academy of Allergy, Asthma from exposure to tree nut allergens for and Immunology (AAAAI) estimates that those who have tree nut allergy, the need food allergy exists in about 4% of the for education is critical. Allergy experts population, but the incidence is growing refer to nut allergy as a “major health rapidly in the USA and in Europe. The issue” and a “growing national problem.”

AAAAI scientific meeting in 2009 will – Continued on page 26

January 2009 • The Cracker 25

– Continued from page 24

The allergy webinar is a first step by the nut industry to address food safety risk from tree nut allergen exposure in food processing and food and feeding facilities.

It targets food processing personnel, schools and food service workers, among others.

A comprehensive communication program to let potential users know about the interactive educational site through press releases and industry meetings will be a key goal during 2009. The webinar is also designed to capture feedback from those who sign on to the course to guide INC NREF in identifying additional learning courses and workshops in the future. The group could also apply for grant money to fund future programs.

The need for the educational webinar is also crucial because facilities that make processed foods with tree nuts are located in every state and often tree nutcontaining foods are prepared in the same location as non-nut containing foods.

Unless allergen control programs are used to prevent “cross-contact,” tree nuts can inadvertently become an unintended ingredient. Incidental cross-contact can cause life threatening allergic reactions.

When cross-contact occurs, even very small amounts, those foods become safety hazards for millions of individuals that are allergic to tree nuts. Undeclared allergens in a food can have devastating consequences to an individual with an allergy because tree nut allergens can evoke a severe reaction even when only a few milligrams are present. Thus food safety systems and allergen control strategies are important to prevent crosscontact.

Food processing/preparation facilities must be evaluated throughout their entire enterprise (quality assurance programs [i.e. HACCP], sanitation, raw material control, packaging, product development, allergen testing, verification of effective cleaning, engineering and equipment layouts, employee and environmental control) to have complete confidence that cross-contact does not occur. A lack of information and misunderstanding about allergens among food processors and 26 The Cracker • January 2009

school administrators can result in unsafe food due to cross-contact of nut and other allergens to foods; de-emphasis of proven healthy foods; reduction of consumer’s choices of products; and nut-free zones and deletion of nuts from foods.

Food processors are largely unaware and unprepared for extensive tree nut allergen control so some processors find it easier to simply remove tree nuts from food items and their plant facilities. New product development of foods with tree nuts is diminished. Some food/ feeding facilities have completely eliminated tree nuts from their facilities, (operating food plants, schools or feeding facilities) by creating “nut free plants” or nut free zones, and others have built completely separate facilities (at a high capital cost) to address the allergen control and liability concerns. A better understanding of food allergy, particularly tree nut allergy, and successful allergen control strategies will enable food/feeding facilities to operate safely, as well as more efficiently and profitably and maintain a viable market for growers and for tree nuts as a whole food.

Food production, handling and preparation locations where cross-contact can occur include tree nut growing operations, bulk ingredient handling operations, distribution systems, food processing and packaging facilities, food preparation locations such as: restaurants, schools, and meal feeding locations (referred to as (food/feeding facilities.

Food/feeding facilities with potential for tree nut allergen cross-contact are diverse and employees and/or food handlers involved vary greatly in their knowledge about food and tree nut allergy and the importance of tree nut allergy control.

– Continued on page 28

Technician adds stop reagent to end substrate color development. Plate is now ready to mix and read.

Typical color development of standards and samples in microwell strip after addition of substrate and proper incubation time.

January 2009 • The Cracker 27

– Continued from page 26

based training modules/workshops addressing tree nut In the short term, this webinar will enable allergen control could be developed to provide the best stakeholders (specialty nut growers/processors, practices and strategies to the American food supply. allergen control experts (FARRP), food scientists Feedback from the first allergy webinar will guide & engineers, clinical researchers, basic researchers, future investment in additional projects by INC NREF. FDA scientists, industrial food processors, school Since there are an estimated 29,000 emergency food service administrators, restaurant trade groups, room visits due to allergic reactions and as many as and consumer groups) to learn the basics about 200 American consumers die each year from acute nut allergy and how to include them in the food systemic allergic reactions (anaphylactic shock) from manufacturing process safely. unnecessary exposure to food allergens, it was time The internet-based training program focuses on that INC NREF take a proactive approach to increase food allergen control, with a special emphasis on understanding about tree nut allergens and the challenges posed prevention of crosshttp://ianrhome.unl.ed/treenuts by allergy to nuts in contact. Stakeholders the manufacturing are encouraged to process. One of every three fatalities associated with share data and ideas for extension of key information food induced anaphylaxis is due to tree nuts. Tree to food/feeding facilities and contribute to a plan for nut cross-contact is a serious health hazard. The addressing a preventable food safety hazard. webinar will enable key stakeholders to initiate a In the longer term, a research and extension plan to prevent, detect and control a preventable food project will be needed to extend expert allergen safety hazard associated with economically important control knowledge and best practices/strategies specialty crops like tree nuts. developed by key stakeholders to a broad audience The webinar is being posted as a link on many tree of food/feeding facilities, including the American nut supplier and FARRP websites and will be free-ofpublic. Internet based long-distance learning has charge for all. To access the webinar, go to...FARRP been shown to be an efficient means of dissemination conducts on-site workshops on the allergen control of training materials to broadly scattered recipients, strategies consisting of two full days and other feeand there may be additional opportunity in the future based allergen control courses also exist. The success to offer a series of web-based learning modules on of this program will depend on how extensively the allergy and tree nut food safety hazards to food/ industry can communicate its existence, learn from feeding facilities across the nation. Extensive the webinar and identify next steps to increase its outreach and training of scientifically proven effectiveness worldwide. C methods and strategies through a series of internet-

We Invite You to Visit Our Website The Official Voice of the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council Foundation for the World Nut and Dried Fruit Trade V World News V Industry News V V Consumer Nutrition News V V Congress Notices and Reports V V Scientific & Regulatory News V V Global Statistics Review V V Trends and Surveys V

4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

www.nutfruit.org

IML is the world’s largest processor and marketer of macadamias.

Because we’re the largest we can guarantee consistently reliable supply for even the most demanding production line. What’s more, our stringent product testing ensures that every shipment is as close to perfect as possible. We’re committed to being the best.

An all Australian company entirely grower owned.

It’s no wonder we supply the world’s best macadamias, look where they come from.

The macadamia originated in the lush red volcanic soil in the sub-tropical region of Northern New South Wales and Queensland. Our perfect climate, soil and terrain provide a nut that is now recognised worldwide for its unique flavour and crunchy texture.

International Macadamias Ltd, 2 Cowlong Road, Alphadale via Lismore, NSW, 2480, Australia.

Phone (61-2) 6624 3900

Facsimile (61-2) 6624 2297

Email iml@intermac.com.au

Website www.intermac.com.au

January 2009 • The Cracker 29

How Global Economy May Affect Ingredient Business Costs Ease for Confectioners?

After two years of spiraling upward costs, an easing in soft commodity prices across the board could reduce manufacturing input costs for confectioners. Chocolate makers, however, remain vulnerable to the upward shift in price for cocoa in recent months, despite some relief in cost. “The input cost outlook for food companies is stabilising, and perhaps, as we look into 2009, improving,” says a new report from Credit Suisse. The report adds that “most of the food companies achieved decent price rises in 2008, and [going forward] the outlook for industry margins should be relatively bright”.

With doom and gloom dominating global ...“as cost bases stabilise headlines in the last quarter of 2008, the report or even fall, this should from Credit Suisse proffers a glow of optimism. The outlook centres on the notion that prices in 2009 free up more money to for key raw materials may ease. And in a further re-invest in promotions note of optimism, the report states that “as cost and marketing to help bases stabilise or even fall, this should free up more maintain revenue money to re-invest in promotions and marketing to growth”. help maintain revenue growth”.

Cocoa Outlook The report notes that compared to “many other agricultural commodities” the rise in cocoa prices in 2007 was “relatively modest”. But in 2008, increases have been far steeper prices are up more than 30 per cent through November, and more than 40 per cent for 2008, “partly over worries about the political stability of the Ivory Coast,” says Credit Suisse. Reports of the damaging black pod disease in the Ivory Coast could drive prices upwards, compounded by political uncertainty that may see chocolate buyers eager to build stocks.

The Ivory Coast is the biggest global supplier of cocoa, contributing 38 per cent of this much sought-after soft commodity to the marketplace.

Prices could flucuate if persistent rain in some of the country’s key cocoa areas create an onset of the virulent fungus Black Pod. National election results on the Ivory Coast could also affect price outlook.

Premium Chocolate Offers Hope While the food inflation rate continues to increase in Europe, premium chocolate products could help confectionery firms ride the storm. Data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development While the food inflation (OECD) suggests food costs in Britain rate continues to are rising faster than in France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands. increase in Europe, According to the OECD figures, premium chocolate Britain’s food inflation rate stood at products could help 9.5 per cent by mid-2008, ahead of confectionery firms France with 5.77 per cent; Germany ride the storm. at 7.12 per cent, Spain at 7.2 per cent and the Netherlands with 6.1 per cent. Food prices also rose 6.5 per cent between June, 2007 to June, 2008 following a 6.0 per cent rise in the 12 months to last May. – Continued on page 32

4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

January 2009 • The Cracker 31

– Continued from page 30

As food prices rise, consumers change their habits to in-house treats as they spend less on eating and drinking outside the home. Evidence suggests that chocolate makers with their eyes firmly set on premium chocolate brands, and products with a health and wellness twist, tap into the change in spending patterns. Research from market analysts Mintel reveals that key to growth in the dark chocolate segment is the mushrooming consumer desire for a slice of luxury, that sees chocolate aficionados actually buying less, with more emphasis on premium varieties when they do make a purchase. “Even though people are still cutting back on the amount of chocolate they eat, sales in the two years to 2007 saw no less than a 10 per cent increase in value,” states the Mintel report. This compares to a mere 1 per cent growth between 2003 and 2005.

Mintel predicted that this healthy growth rate will show a further five per cent growth at the end of 2008, pushing the British chocolate market to £2.23 billion in value. “And these trends will continue to help stem the chocolate market meltdown, with sales of all chocolate set for a further 17 per cent growth in the five years to 2013,” adds the ‘Chocolate confectionery’ report. UK confectionery firm Cadbury sales reports support the Mintel prediction. The firm reported a 7.3 per cent rise in first half sales and profits of £223m during the first half of 2008.

Meanwhile, Cadbury may enact a number of job cuts in its New Zealand and Australian operations, while Mars joins rival Hershey in pushing up prices for its brands. Cadbury is looking to cut 15 percent of its workforce that includes 330 positions across it operations in Australia and New Zealand in a bid to refocus its chocolate operations.

About 145 of the redundancies came from the company’s New Zealandbased Dunedin plant, which will also undergo a NZ$51m (24.5m) refurbishment to step up manufacture of boxed assorted chocolates.

Mars is also increasing prices to offset costs. The candy maker pushed up the wholesale prices for its chocolate products by about 12 per cent to reflect higher payouts for everything from nuts and cocoa to fuel. The changes reflected a third price hike across the group’s brand portfolio in 2008. This follows US-based Hershey which raised its own wholesale prices for chocolate bars by 11 per cent. The increase, which applied to its entire domestic product line, comes on the back of a “significant” rise in input costs, including raw materials, packaging materials, fuel and transportation.

However, price increases have not been the only strategy adopted by confectioners to alleviate cost concerns in an uncertain market.

Manufacturers have moved manufacturing facilities to cheaper areas amid the challenging economic environment. Hershey, for example, closed plants in the US and Canada in 2007 and moved the operations to Mexico to save costs.

Despite changes in the economy, chocolate sales remain strong in both the US and Europe. According to Mintel, sales of chocolate confectionery in the US amounted to $16.3bn in 2007, a very small increase from the $16bn recorded in 2006, and a 22 per cent increase since 2002. It said the market is predicted to increase at a rate of about 4 per cent per year during the next six years. C 4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

January 2009 • The Cracker 33

Emerging Markets Offer Best Opportunities With the global economy challenged for myriad reasons related to the interconnection between countries, many companies including Procter and Gamble(P&G) — the maker of Tide detergent and Pampers diapers — to McDonald’s Corp., PepsiCo Inc. and General Motors Corp. are looking to countries such as China, India and Brazil and their burgeoning consumer classes for sales. Millions of people in the developing economies are coming out of poverty every year, and many are eager to consume — an opportunity for many food companies, including those involved in the nut and dried fruit business, one of the oldest trading traditions in the world.

Rapidly developing economies account for 3.5 billion people, slightly more than half the world’s population. China and India alone account for more than a third, with China’s population of 1.3 billion four times that of the U.S. As consumers grow their discretionary income, they head to the marketplace where they buy items that major food companies offer.

Convenience and prestige of many products drive increased consumption. As an ancient and prestigious food, nuts and dried fruit are already part of most traditional cultures. The ongoing abundance of supply helps to feed increasing interest from emerging market consumers.

Current demand curves bear this out.

The numbers make a good case for expanding in new markets, despite the inherent risks. For example, Yum Brands Inc., parent of the Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains, now draws more than half its profits from overseas, offsetting sluggish U.S. business. Yum reported last Fall that strong overseas sales, especially in China, more than offset a drop in U.S. results as its third-quarter profit rose 5 percent. Yum is on pace to open at least 1,400 new restaurants in China and its international divisions. The company sees 34 The Cracker • January 2009

plenty more opportunity overseas from the continued growth of the middle classes.

P&G says emerging markets now account for 30 percent of its $83.5 billion yearly sales and half of its annual sales growth, and a key part of its long-term strategy. This is driven by population growth in Asia and Africa. P&G is expanding operations by building a second plant in Pakistan despite violence that followed a recent shift in power. But besides such upheaval, analysts say there are other issues in emerging markets: working around infrastructure problems and local politics, understanding consumer and cultural differences, and building and protecting brand identity and reputation.

U.S. companies have run into controversy. For example, Pepsi and Coca-Cola Co. battled allegations in India that their drinks had pesticide residue and complaints that they are using vital water supplies in some regions. Starbucks closed a coffeehouse in Beijing’s Forbidden City after protests that it was inappropriate for such a historically important Chinese site. P&G faced rumors in Egypt and other Arab countries that its Ariel detergent was somehow connected to Israel and former leader Ariel Sharon.

But sheer numbers and trends are on the side of global marketers in countries where there are still much lower rates of household penetration and average sales than in their developed markets,

with incomes and economies growing at a faster rate. In Brazil, recent economic growth has widened the consumer base, especially in the South American nation’s vast rural regions and among its lowerincome city dwellers. People who were too poor to buy cleaning products or used homemade cleaning products are now buying them. People who used to only buy essential products are now buying more nonessentials.

Some global consumer products companies hire mostly natives and encourage key managers to learn about consumers by spending time in their homes, some living in remote villages for several days. In Brazil, for example, special lowpriced Pampers nighttime diapers that tout absorbency are aimed at families in which babies and toddlers sleep in the same bed with parents.

Consumers who want to buy healthy, nutritional products for their families are also attracted to food items like dried fruit and nuts.

While Brazil, Russia, India and China get the most attention, there are many smaller nations where economies — and consumer sales — are building. P&G now has sales in 160 countries, with business blooming in such places as Indonesia, South Africa and Vietnam.

Size is a big advantage for companies that can diversify global operations and not depend on one country or region as political or natural disasters challenge business.

These companies have the capacity and the size to manage through a five- and 10-year outlook. Many of these larger companies build plants to keep supplies close to the new markets. Among countries one company offical is considering, for example, is Kazakhstan. This former Soviet republic has a growing economy with plentiful oil and more than 15 million people. One strategy is to hire some Kazakhs to work elsewhere in eastern Europe, training them to eventually run things back home. C

XXVIII WORLD NUT AND DRIED FRUIT CONGRESS MONACO, 29-31 MAY 2009 ;\Xi ]i`\e[j# N\cZfd\ kf k_\ Gi`eZ`gXc`kp f] DfeXZf# fe\ f] k_\ dfjk gi\jk`^`flj Xe[ c\^\e[Xip gcXZ\j fe \Xik_ E\jkc\[ Y\kn\\e k_\ j_fi\j f] k_\ D\[`k\iiXe\Xe J\X Xe[ k_\ Zc`]]$kfg m`ccX^\j f] k_\ =i\eZ_ I`m`\iX# k_\ Gi`eZ`gXc`kp `j aljk j\m\e d`elk\j kiXej]\i k`d\ Yp _\c`Zfgk\i# fi X *'$d`elk\ [i`m\ ]ifd E`Z\ @ek\ieXk`feXc 8`igfik% N\ `em`k\ pfl kf [`jZfm\i k_\ dXep ]XZ\kj f] k_\ Gi`eZ`gXc`kp# n_`cjk pfl Xcjf Xkk\e[ fli @E: :fe^i\jj# n`k_ [\c\^Xk\j i\gi\j\ek`e^ k_\ nfic[Ëj c\X[`e^ elk Xe[ [i`\[ ]il`k `e[ljkip% DfeXZf _Xj X [Xqqc`e^ gc\k_fiX f] c\`jli\ XZk`m`k`\j $ ]ifd k_\ nfic[ ]Xdflj :Xj`ef f] Dfek\ :Xicf# kf k_\ \oZclj`m\ dflekX`e$kfg ^fc] ZclY% K_\ Gi`eZ`gXc`kp Xcjf f]]\ij `kj (''$p\Xi$fc[ kiX$ [`k`fe f] k_\ :_Xe^`e^ f] k_\ GXcXZ\ >lXi[# jklee`e^ dlj\ldj# \c\^Xek ^Xi[\ej# ZipjkXc$Zc\Xi Y\XZ_\j Xe[ \ek\ikX`e`e^ Y\XZ_ ZclYj% K_Xebj kf *'' [Xpj f] jlej_`e\ X p\Xi# DfeXZf n`cc `e[\\[ f]]\i pfl X nXid n\cZfd\% Fli Zfe^i\jj n`cc gifm`[\ Xe fggfikle`kp kf Zfe[lZk Ylj`e\jj# n_`c\ \eafp`e^ k_\ dfjk \ohl`j`k\ Zl`j`e\ `e X Z`kp Y\jk befne ]fi `kj ]Xj_`fe Xe[ \c\^XeZ\ N\ Xi\ gi\gXi`e^ Xe flkjkXe[`e^ Ylj`e\jj gif^iXd ]fi X ^cXdfiflj Xe[ le]fi^\kkXYc\ Zfe^i\jj k_Xk ZXeefk Y\ d`jj\[ K_`j n`cc `eZcl[\ k_\ cXk\jk ^cfYXc elk Xe[ [i`\[ ]il`k gif[lZk`fe Xe[ dXib\k ki\e[j# Xe `ej`[\ cffb Xk _fn elki`k`fe e\nj [i`m\j i\Zfi[ Zfejldgk`fe iXk\j Xe[ _fn i\^lcXkfip `jjl\j Zfek`el\ kf Z_Xcc\e^\ fli Ylj`e\jj% J`eZ\ k_`j `j k_\ fecp XeelXc m\el\ ]fi k_\ nfic[Ëj elk Xe[ [i`\[ ]il`k `e[ljkip c\X[\ij# n\ li^\ pfl kf Yffb \Xicp Xe[ af`e lj ]fi fe\ f] k_\ dfjk \eafpXYc\ Xe[ gif[lZk`m\ d\\k`e^j p\k kf Y\ \ek\i\[ fe pfli )''0 ZXc\e[Xi N\ ZXeËk nX`k kf \ek\ikX`e pfl `e DfeXZf 8[Xd ?XZb`e^ :fe^i\jj :f$:_X`idXe

>`c\j ?XZb`e^ :fe^i\jj :f$:_X`idXe

International Nut and Dried Fruit Foundation

*ANUARY s 4HE #RACKER

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM 2009 MONACO, 29-31 MAY 2009

THURSDAY, 28 MAY 2009 9:00 AM 5:00 PM

Registration at the Fairmont Hotel

FRIDAY, 29 MAY 2009 8.00 AM

Bus departs from Fairmont Hotel for Golf Tournament at Monte-Carlo Golf Club Golf Tournament, Sponsored by Setton Pistachios Golf Lunch, Sponsored by Harris Woolf Almonds

9:00 AM 5:00 PM

Registration at the Fairmont Hotel

9:00 AM 2:30 PM

Scientific and Government Affairs Committee Meeting, at the Fairmont Hotel

9.30 AM

Bus departs from Fairmont Hotel for Tennis Tournament at Monte-Carlo Country Club

10.00 AM

Lessons in Casino Games at the Monte Carlo Casino

3:00 PM 5:00 PM

Dried Fruit Meeting

4:00 PM 6:30 PM

Poker Tournament at Sun Casino, Fairmont Hotel. Finals from 9.30pm till 2.00am

5:00 PM 6:00 PM

Speakers’ Meeting at the Fairmont Hotel

6.45 PM

Bus departs from Monte Carlo Bay Hotel to “La Salle Empire”, Hotel de Paris

7:00 PM 9:00 PM

Welcome Cocktail party at “La Salle Empire”, at Hotel de Paris.

Sponsored by the Monaco Tourist and Convention Authority

WALKING DISTANCES FROM HOTELS TO THE EVENTS

4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

SATURDAY, 30 MAY 2009 9:00 AM

Congress Officially opens at Fairmont Hotel. Welcome: Giles Hacking & Adam Hacking, Congress Co-Chairmen and Jack Mariani, INC Chairman

9.30 AM

HAZELNUTS Working Group, chaired by Dr. Maurizio Cortese, Ferrero Group

10.00 AM

Speaker: Professor Joachim Schwass, IMD Family Business

10.45 AM

Coffee break. Do not miss to visit the exhibitions area

11:15 AM

WALNUTS Working Group, chaired by Michael Mendes PECANS Working Group, chaired by Dick Walden

11.45 AM

DRIED: FIGS/ APRICOTS/ PRUNES Working Group, chaired by Mark Mariani

12.15 PM

BRAZIL NUTS Working Group, chaired by David Rosenblatt PINE NUTS Working Group, chaired by Huo Jianguo

12.45 PM

Scientific Seminar, chaired by Pino Calcagni

1.45 PM

Buffet Working Lunch, Sponsored by Rajkumar Impex Ltd

4:00 PM 6:00 PM

Ambassadors Meeting, at the Fairmont Hotel

8.15 PM

Bus shuttle from Fairmont Hotel to “Le Deck”

8.30 PM

Casual Buffet Dinner at “Le Deck”

9:45 AM 2:30 PM

Spouses Tour: Monaco old town (lunch included)

SUNDAY, 31 MAY 2009 9.00 AM

INC General Assembly at the Fairmont Hotel

10.00 AM

2010 Beijing-China World Nut and Dried Fruit Congress Presentation

10.15 AM

ALMONDS Working Group, chaired by Doug Youngdahl

10.45 AM

Coffee Break. Exhibition continues

11:15 AM

PISTACHIOS Working Group, chaired by Asadollah Asgaroladi PEANUTS Working Group, chaired by John Petersen

11.45 AM

Speaker: David Coulthard, F1 Race Driver

12:30 PM

CASHEWS Working Group, chaired by Ashok Krishen MACADAMIAS Working Group, chaired by Michael Waring

1:00 PM

DRIED: DATES Working Group, chaired by Mohsen Boujbel DRIED: RAISINS/ SULTANAS/ CURRANTS Working Group, chaired by Barry Kriebel

1.30 PM

Buffet Working Lunch, Sponsored by Sun-Maid Growers of California

6.45 PM

Bus shuttle from Fairmont Hotel to “Salle des Etoiles”

7.00 PM

Cocktail in the gardens of the Salle des Etoiles and the Salle des Palmiers

8:00 PM

Gala Dinner and Ball at the “Salle des Etoiles” Black tie/Lounge suit recommended

9:30 AM 3:00 PM

Spouses Tour: Nice, the Capital of the French Riviera (lunch included)

*ANUARY s 4HE #RACKER

SPOUSE TOURS, GOLF & TENNIS X X V I I I W O R L D N U T & D R I E D F R U I T CONGRESS

SPOUSE TOURS SATURDAY, 30 MAY 2009 - MONACO

SUNDAY, 31 MAY 2009 - NICE

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GOLF TOURNAMENT

TENNIS TOURNAMENT

FRIDAY, 29 MAY 2009

FRIDAY, 29 MAY 2009

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4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

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EVENING PROGRAM 2009 X X V I I I W O R L D N U T & D R I E D F R U I T CONGRESS

Friday, 29 May 2009 LA SALLE EMPIRE K_\ N\cZfd\ :fZbkX`c GXikp n`cc Y\ _\c[ Xk ÈCX JXcc\ <dg`i\#É X ki\d\e[flj _`jkfi`ZXccp \c\^Xek YXehl\k`e^ m\el\% J`klXk\[ `ej`[\ k_\ ?fk\c [\ GXi`j `e :Xj`ef JhlXi\ Xe[ n`k_`e nXcb`e^ [`jkXeZ\ f] k_\ =X`idfek ?fk\c# `k `j \dYc\dXk`Z f] Xlk_\ek`Z <lifg\Xe c`]\jkpc\%

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Sunday, 31 May 2009 SALLES DES ETOILES K_\ kiX[`k`feXc >XcX ;`ee\i Xe[ 9Xcc n`cc Y\ _\c[ Xk k_\ ÈJXcc\j [\j <kf`c\jÉ# n_`Z_ _Xj n\cZfd\[ i\efne\[ `ek\ieXk`feXc g\i]fid\ij kf `kj c\^\e[Xip jkX^\% ;\[`ZXk\[ kf gXik`\j# j_fnj Xe[ jg\ZkXZlcXi \m\ekj# `k `j k_\ lck`dXk\ jpdYfc f] DfeXZfËj [Xqqc`e^ Xik f] c`m`e^%

POKER FRIDAY, 29 MAY 2009 10.00 AM LESSONS IN CASINO GAMES AT GRAND CASINO (CASINO SQUARE) ;f pfl nXek kf g\i]\Zk k_\ Xik f] n`ee`e^6

C\Xie \]]\Zk`m\ jkiXk\^`\j

Befn YXj`Z ^Xd\ ilc\j

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4.00 PM POKER TOURNAMENT AT SUN CASINO (FAIRMONT HOTEL) FINALS FROM 9.30 PM TILL 2.00 AM

;feËk d`jj k_\ Z_XeZ\ kf \eafp ^XdYc`e^ n`k_ pfli ]i`\e[j% K_\ Gfb\i kflieXd\ek n`cc Y\ _fc[ Xk k_\ gi\jk`^`flj Jle :Xj`ef fe DXp )0k_ jkXik`e^ Xk +gd n`k_ X Yi\Xb [li`e^ k_\ @E: :fZbkX`c gXikp# kf Zfek`el\ X]k\inXi[j Xk 0%*'gd% ! GcXZ\j Xi\ c`d`k\[% =`ijk Zfd\# Ôijk j\im\[

APPLICATION

FOR INSCRIPTIONS PLEASE CONTACT US AT INC@NUTFRUIT.ORG *ANUARY s 4HE #RACKER

HOTELS 2009

X X V I I I W O R L D N U T & D R I E D F R U I T CONGRESS

FAIRMONT HOTEL :fe^i\jj ?\X[hlXik\ij n`cc Y\ Xk k_\ =X`idfek ?fk\c# k_\ cXi^\jk _fk\c Zfem\ek`fe i\jfik fe k_\ I`m`\iX# cfZXk\[ n`k_`e nXcb`e^ [`jkXeZ\ f] k_\ ]Xdflj GcXZ\ [\ :Xj`ef# k_`j le`hl\ XiZ_`k\ZkliXc cXe[dXib i\Õ\Zkj k_\ \c\^XeZ\ Xe[ jfg_`jk`ZXk`fe ]fi n_`Z_ Dfek\ :Xicf _Xj Y\Zfd\ jf ]Xdflj# Xj Xe \c`k\ `ek\ieXk`feXc gcXp^ifle[% =fi i\j\imXk`fej# gc\Xj\ m`j`k nnn%elk]il`k%fi^&dfeXZf$)''0 fi Ôcc flk k_\ XkkXZ_\[ =X`idfek ?fk\c I\j\imXk`fe =fid%

HOTEL DE PARIS CfZXk\[ n`k_`e nXcb`e^ [`jkXeZ\ f] k_\ =X`idfek ?fk\c# k_\ ?fk\c [\ GXi`j \eafpj Xe \eZ_Xek`e^ cfZXk`fe fm\icffb`e^ k_\ j\X Xe[ k_\ GcXZ\ [\ :Xj`ef# n`k_ flkjkXe[`e^ j\im`Z\# Xe[ XdXq`e^ n`e\$Z\ccXij%%% K_\ ?fk\c [\ GXi`j `j Xdfe^ jfd\ f] k_\ kilcp \oZ\gk`feXc gXcXZ\j $ k_\ kpg\ f] n_`Z_ c\^\e[j Xi\ dX[\% 9l`ck `e (/-+# lj`e^ \oZclj`m\ dXk\i`Xcj f] k_\ g\i`f[# k_\ ? k\c [\ GXi`j Zfek`el\j kf jpdYfc`j\ k_\ jXd\ Ôe\ Xik f] _fjg`kXc`kp `e k_`j e\n d`cc\ee`ld% Fli N\cZfd\ :fZbkX`c GXikp n`cc _fjk pfli Ôijk \m\e`e^ _\i\# `e k_\ JXcc\ <dg`i\% =fi i\j\imXk`fej# gc\Xj\ m`j`k _kkg1&&`eZ%i\jX%jYd%dZ gXjjnfi[1 elk

MONTE CARLO BAY HOTEL & RESORT Fg\e\[ `e FZkfY\i )'',# k_\ Dfek\$:Xicf 9Xp ?fk\c I\jfik `j Xe `eefmXk`fe ]fi k_\ Gi`eZ`gXc`kp f] DfeXZf% Dfi\ k_Xe X e\n _fk\c# dfi\ k_Xe X e\n i\jfik# k_`j `j X e\n ZfeZ\gk kf [`jZfm\i `e DfeXZf% K_\ Dfek\$:Xicf 9Xp ?fk\c I\jfik i\jkj fe (' XZi\j f] ^Xi[\ej# fe k_\ nXk\iËj \[^\# n`k_ **+ iffdj# X jgX# i\jkXliXekj# ZXj`efj# j_fnj Xe[ X e`^_k ZclY% 8e Xlk_\ek`Z# gi\jk`^`flj ZclY e\jkc`e^ fe X [i\Xd$c`b\ `jcXe[# i\e\n`e^ k_\ jg`i`k f] k_\ c\^\e[ Xe[ k_\ jgc\e[fli f] k_\ (0*'j jkpc\# k_`j _fk\c `j j`klXk\[ Y\kn\\e k_\ Dfek\ :Xicf 9\XZ_ :clY n_`Z_ n`cc Y\ k_\ m\el\ ]fi k_\ JXkli[Xp e`^_k [`ee\i Xe[ k_\ CX JXcc\ [\j <kf`c\j n_\i\ pfl n`cc ZfeZcl[\ pfli f]ÔZ`Xc Ylj`e\jj# Xk fli >XcX ;`ee\i % =fi i\j\imXk`fej# gc\Xj\ m`j`k _kkg1&&`eZ%i\jX%jYd%dZ gXjjnfi[1 elk

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DfeXZfËj jki\\kj _fjk k_\ n\cc$befne =fidlcX ( >iXe[ Gi`o# n_`Z_# Xj n\cc Xj Y\`e^ X gi\d`\i jgfik`e^ \m\ek# `j fe\ f] <lifg\Ëj XeelXc jfZ`Xc _`^_c`^_kj% K_\ >iXe[ Gi`o kXb\j gcXZ\ fe DXp )(jk kf )+k_# )''0# aljk Y\]fi\ k_\ :fe^i\jj%

@ek\i\jk\[6 M`j`k fli n\Y j`k\ Xk nnn%elk]il`k%fi^&dfeXZf$)''0 4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

International Nut and Dried Fruit Foundation

*ANUARY s 4HE #RACKER

U.S. PISTACHIO EXPORTS SURPASS IRAN

By Richard Matoian Executive Director Western Pistachio Association

U.S. Pistachio Production The 2008 pistachio harvest ended in late October this year; at press time, production numbers indicate California crop deliveries totaling 276,280,573 pounds had been delivered by October 10, 2008. Additionally, it is estimated that the state of Arizona produced somewhere around 5,500,000 pounds. A final report from the Administrative Committee on Pistachios (ACP) was due in December showing final delivery totals, but the total U.S. pistachio crop will probably end up totaling 285,000,000 pounds. This is considered an “off-year” for pistachio production.

A primary determinant of quality is the percentage of the incoming crop that is either “open shell” or “closed shell.” Each harvest yields a certain percentage of nuts that have not naturally opened prior to harvest. These nuts are classified as “closed shell” “shelling stock” or “non-splits” and have a lower market value than those nuts that are naturally split or “open inshell.”

Industry statistics indicated that marketable open inshell for 2008 represents 83% of the total crop.

This is the seventh highest percentage of open inshell since statistics were first collected in 1980. Pistachio processors also reported large, excellent quality nuts with very low insect damage this year.

Last year’s “on year” 2007 crop was a record 416 million pounds. Marketable open inshell was 332 million pounds, representing 80% of the total crop, but the percentage of insect damage was very high.

The 2006 off-year crop produced 237 million.

Supply is expected to continue to grow as pistachio acreage increases. The Administrative Committee for Pistachios (ACP) reported the total California acreage at the end of 2007 to be 177,438. Of that, approximately 115,000 acres are considered bearing (trees older than 7 years of age), indicting a large amount, 62,500 acres or 36 percent of total acres are non-bearing. New acreage is being planted at record rates each year. 25,000 new trees were planted in 2007 alone; as orchards mature and begin to produce nuts, production will continue to increase.

Global Demand: U.S. Shipments Hit Record High As illustrated in the ACP shipment report below, the percentage of exports has steadily climbed over the past four years and has outpaced domestic shipments since 2006. Over 201 million pounds were exported by the U.S. in 2007, representing 59% of total shipments. Despite increasing production, shipments remain strong, while the documented higher quality of U.S. pistachios combined with the weakening of the U.S. dollar have contributed to substantially increased oversees shipments in recent years.

For the first time, U.S. 2007/08 export shipments surpassed Iranian exports, making the U.S. the number one supplier of pistachios throughout the World.

This trend is expected to continue through the 2008 crop year since Iran experienced a severe frost during this season that has affected its total 2008 crop size.

4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

As a result, the return to growers has been relatively stable. Between 1995 and 2008, the crop acreage has more than doubled, yet the grower return has been positive. With incentives, the grower price for the 2008 pistachio crop will average slightly above $2.00 per pound, equaling or surpassing previous records.

Domestic Demand: U.S. Industry Promotes Health Message Approximately 41 percent of total shipments remain in the domestic market.

This represents approximately 98% of the entire U.S. consumption. The health message promoted by the U.S. pistachio industry has resulted in heightened consumer awareness that has increased domestic demand, with record shipments totaling 138 million pounds in the 2007/08 crop year (August through September).

The qualified health claim relating to nuts released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration states: Scientific evidence suggests, but does not prove, that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, (such as pistachios), as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease. This endorsement, along with several prominent studies conducted by Penn State University that resulted in papers being published in reputable medical journals, have legitimized promotion of the heart health message for pistachios by U.S. industry members. Additionally, a separate study on pistachio consumption and diabetes is being conducted by the WPA at the University of Toronto, Canada.

The Western Pistachio Association participated in the American Dietetics’ Association Food & Nutrition Conference and Expo in Chicago, October 26-28. ADA attendees went NUTS for U.S. pistachios! Attendance was much higher than anticipated and by meeting’s end, we went through approximately 2,500 sample cups of pistachios. Attendees were eager to share their existing knowledge surrounding the health benefits of pistachios, and were very receptive to our new research and resource materials, which included a nutritional consumer brochure, fact sheets, research releases and a recent study surrounding pistachios and heart disease risk factors published in the Journal of Nutrition.

Attendee Observations: • Pistachios are a favored snack choice for many dieticians, nutritionists • Most attendees knew about some of the more common health benefits of pistachios, and were very eager to learn about recent research around the effect of pistachios on heart disease risk factors.

• Many were excited about the celebrity chef recipe booklet.

• Multiple attendees requested additional information be emailed/sent to them.

– Continued on page 44

January 2009 • The Cracker 43

– Continued from page 43

Commonly-Asked Questions: s Where are pistachios grown? s How many nuts are in a serving? s How many calories are in a serving? s What makes pistachios better (or healthier) than other nuts? s How do they compare? s How to I ensure that I’m only buying fresh pistachios? s What is the best way to store pistachios? s How do you open the closed shells?

Other pistachio health facts that will be touted include: s Pistachios, like olive oil, primarily contain monounsaturated fat that has been linked with lowering cholesterol levels and the risk of heart disease. s Pistachios contain more than 10% of the Daily Value of dietary fiber and essential vitamins and minerals like B-6, thiamin, copper and phosphorus. s One serving of pistachios has as much potassium as half a large banana. s Pistachios are especially rich in phytosterols, which are directly associated with lowering cholesterol. In animal studies phytosterols have been shown to potentially have anti-cancer properties. s A one-ounce serving of pistachios equals 49 nuts – more per serving than any other tree nut.

Other nutrition based promotions that have been undertaken by the Western Pistachio Association included a press release in honor of National Nut Day on October 22. The WPA encouraged consumers to celebrate the day by eating nuts, like pistachios, and reap their benefits. According to the U.S. FDA, scientific evidence suggests that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, such as pistachios, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.

The Western Pistachio Association: U.S. In fact, pistachios are a great source of protein and potassium Growers United Together and provide more dietary fiber than any other nut. Additional After the 2007 closure of the former California Pistachio nutritional facts about pistachios are Commission (CPC), a mandatory below for your reference. state marketing order, the Western Pistachio Association (WPA) stepped Pistachio Nutritional Facts in to provide some of the programs s You can obtain more dietary fiber previously administered by the CPC from a serving of pistachios than a for U.S. growers. Founded in 1980, cup of broccoli or spinach, and the Association provided governmental the same amount of dietary fiber as and PAC program activities for an orange or apple. decades, but has since increased s Pistachios are a great source of membership and responsibility for protein and can serve as an other services vital to the industry alternative to meat, poultry such as governmental affairs, nutrition or beans, according to the USDA research and promotion and grower Food Guide Pyramid. communications, including the s Pistachios are a naturally continuation of an annual industry cholesterol-free snack that contains conference, introduction of an just 1.5g of saturated fat. informative Website: westernpistachio.

In the Spring, 2009, the WPA will org and the publishing of newsletters celebrate the United States’ National and annual report of the U.S. pistachio Pistachio Day on February 26, 2009. industry.

We will encourage consumers to The WPA has membership experience first-hand the health throughout the U.S. These growers benefits of pistachios by incorporating are united in a common mission: To them into their regular diet. provide programs and policies that will As a nutrient-dense food, pistachios maximize long-term profitability for are continuously praised for numerous United States pistachio growers. C health benefits including being a naturally cholesterol-free food that has just 1.5 grams of saturated fat per serving. Pistachios are a great source of protein and potassium and provide more dietary fiber than any other nut.

4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

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California Walnut Commission Promotes New Products, JAPAN Andersen, a chain retail bakery having 70 outlets nationwide, launched new walnut bread named “Walnuts Square” that was developed based on the grand prize winning walnut bread in the 9th NPDC held by CWC in 1998. This item has four kinds of flavor variations as toppings- they are black sesame, white sesame, seed of sunflower and cheese other than the simple walnut taste. The sales started on Nov. 1, 2008 and will complete the end of January, 2009. The POS materials, supported by CWC were used at almost all of their outlets from Nov. 1 to the end of December.

SPAIN New Holiday Campaign The CWC’s annual holiday campaign began in November with a mix of outdoor/ in store and print advertising. In store security alarms were wrapped in El Corte Inglés, Eroski, and Cabrabo supermarkets nationally. Thirteen print ads will run in leading magazines such as Pronto, newspapers and Sunday supplements such as El Semanal through November and December.

Creative with squirrels was wellreceived last year, so new creative was developed that continued to feature squirrels along with the tagline “California Walnuts: However and wherever you want to.”

GERMANY Distribution of POS Brochures at ALDI Aldi, Germany’s largest discounter and biggest customer for California walnuts in Europe will be distributing the California Walnut World Christmas brochure at point of sale during the holiday season. All of Aldi’s Northern stores will be receiving a CWC dispenser packaged directly in the bin by the California walnut importers. Each dispenser contains 50 California Walnut World holiday brochures with a complete California walnut Christmas menu which consumers can prepare during the holidays and can be hung on the shelf, bin or stand alone. From November through December a total of 750,000 CWC brochures will be distributed in their affiliates.

Holiday Campaign The California Walnut Commission launched their 2008 inshell advertising campaign in Germany with a series of holiday ads appearing in consumer publications from October though December. The ads place California walnuts Menus with in a typical Christmas setting, used in a Heart duck and a roast recipe — two dishes In July, California walnuts launched the traditionally eaten during the holidays in fourth year of its annual campaign, Menus Germany. with Heart. The goal of this program is

The headlines reads, “Zum Fest: to promote healthy eating habits among California’s Best” which means “California’s the population to prevent cardiovascular Best for your diseases, the leading cause of death in Holidays.”

Spain. This activity is co-organized with the Consumers Spanish Heart Foundation (SHF). Renowned are therefore cardiologists of the SHF and popular chefs encouraged worked together to design 5 healthy and to share delicious menus (15 recipes total) that were the holiday published by the CWC in a cookbook. The feeling chefs are all very well known in Spain and with the the menus were presented to the media healthy gift in five press conferences organized in the of California restaurants of the chefs located in the main walnuts.

Spanish cities. Additionally, the campaign Most of had the support of cooks associations in the 25 ads several of these cities. appearing during the holidays will be in

Menus with Heart obtained excellent 1/3 page high format in food and women’s coverage from the local and national media magazines. Smaller format magazines will in July: 10 TV stations, 9 radio stations, carry full page ads.

16 newspapers, 10 magazines and 40 online media outlets. Coverage remains widespread being featured throughout the remaining months of the year following the press events. The cookbook has been well received by consumers with over 3,000 orders to date.

46 The Cracker • January 2009

New Campaigns and the Health Message Worldwide KOREA Popular Korean television program “How to eat well, Live well” airs nationally on SBS. In early October a team from the show joined the industry’s annual harvest tour. The show’s host and celebrity guest, pop singer Won-Jun Kim, were captured witnessing the walnut harvest and operating the walnut shakers. They also visited walnut processing plants and talked about walnuts with the industry’s walnut handlers.

The program aired on October 18th as a 15-minute segment of an hour-long program. The average viewership is 23.4%, an estimated audience of 10 million. The SBS “How to eat well, Live well” is running for its 7th season and has won “The Best Program Award” over 5 times with its entertaining and informational content.

CANADA New Consumer Recipe Booklet A new bilingual recipe booklet was developed featuring the following recipes: Mixed Greens with Grilled Steak and California Walnut Romesco, Pappardelle with California Walnut Pesto, Walrus Bars and Indian Spiced Party Mix, along with information on walnut storage, health benefits and usage tips. 75,000 booklets will be distributed at upcoming consumer events and trade shows.

Superfoods Symposia CWC participated in the superfoods symposia series organized by the Guelph Food Technology Centre in Ontario on October 2nd. The symposia was developed specifically targeting companies interested in launching innovative products and/ or reformulating existing products with superfood ingredients. Industry experts speaking at the symposia were tasked with demystifying the concept of superfoods, providing insight into consumer perceptions, examining the sourcing and application of superfoods, and exploring how to substantiate health claims for products.

CWC recruited registered dietitian, Cara Rosenbloom, to speak about walnuts at the event. Cara’s presentation included information on the health benefits of walnuts, why they are a superfood, how walnuts can be used and sourced and the growing interest of consumers in superfoods. The CWC provided literature and sampled walnut trail bars for guests. C

*ANUARY s 4HE #RACKER

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INTERNATIONAL NUT AND DRIED FRUIT COUNCIL FOUNDATION As an INC member, you have immediate international access to recognized leaders in the industry who volunteer their time and expertise at no expense to INC on matters which benefit the entire industry.

INC Ambassadors Oscar Vergara, Argentina

Asadollah Asgaroladi, Iran

Ruslan Sokht, Russia

Art Beavis, Australia

Mohsen Jalalpour, Iran

Philip Lee, South Africa

Michael Waring, Australia

Mehrdad M anouchehri, Iran

A ntonio Pont, Jr., Spain

Frank Vaerewijck, Belgium

Remy Berrebi, Israel

Caroline Lindeberg, Sweden

James Beeny, Brazil

Riccardo Calcagni, Italy

Mohsen Boujbel, Tunisia

Stephen Meltzer, Canada

K azuo Julian Tagawa, Japan

Sabit Sabir, Turkey

Siegfried Von Gehr, Chile

Pius M. Ngugi, Kenya

Jafar Moallem, U.A.E.

Chen Ying, China

Sarkis Hasserjian, Lebanon

Niel Hyde, U.K.

Saifuddin Abidali, Egypt

Abbas R afii, Luxembourg

Thomas Finn, U.S.A.

Hubert Berrebi, France

K arim A zzaoui, Morocco

M ark M ariani, U.S.A.

Dieter Scheuer, Germany

Kees van de Sandt, Netherlands

Dick Walden, U.S.A.

John Cardassilaris, Greece

Erik Harlem, Norway

James Warner, U.S.A.

Cheng Hung K ay, Hong Kong

Jorge Carqueja, Portugal

Pratap Nair, India

Kourosh Mojibian, Russia

48 The Cracker • January 2009

almonds cashews walnuts pistachios pine kernels sunflower seeds macadamia nuts pumpkin seeds hazelnuts pecans peanuts brazil nuts dehydrated fruit dried fruit

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January 2009 â&#x20AC;˘ The Cracker 49

50 The Cracker â&#x20AC;˘ January 2009

WORLD CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION TRENDS JANUARY 2009 | GLOBAL STATISTICAL REVIEW

«Statistics

are also available at our website

www.nutfruit.org»

MAIN PRODUCING COUNTRIES

Listed by global production as per FAO but not necessarily meaning quantities going through commercial channels

ALMONDS

BRAZIL NUTS

CASHEWS

HAZELNUTS

MACADAMIAS

WALNUTS

PEANUTS

DATES

DRIED APRICOTS

DRIED FIGS

USA Spain Syria Italy Iran Australia Chile Morocco Tunisia Greece Turkey

China USA Iran Turkey Ukraine Italy Chile France India Romania Moldova Greece

Bolivia Brazil Peru

China India Nigeria USA Indonesia Argentina Vietnam

India Brazil Vietnam Mozambique Nigeria Indonesia Tanzania Côte d’Ivoire Guinea-Bissau Kenya

Egypt Saudi Arabia Iran Iraq Tunisia USA Israel Algeria United Arab Emirates Pakistan Morocco

Turkey Italy USA Spain Azerbaijan Georgia France China Iran Russia

Turkey Australia Iran USA South Africa China

Australia USA South Africa Malawi Brazil Guatemala Costa Rica Kenya Zimbabwe

Turkey Egypt Iran Greece Italy USA Spain

PECANS

PINE NUTS

PRUNES

RAISINS/SULTANAS/CURRANTS

USA Mexico South Africa Australia

USA Chile France Argentina Serbia Australia South Africa Italy

China Russia Afghanistan Pakistan Mongolia Spain Portugal Italy DPRK Turkey

PISTACHIOS Iran USA Syria Turkey Greece Afghanistan Italy China

Turkey USA Iran Greece Chile Uzbekistan South Africa Australia Argentina China

ALMOND ALMENDRA AMANDE MANDORLE MANDEL BADEM AMETLLA

USA Total almond shipments in the first quarter of FY 2008/09 increased 4% compared to the same period last year to reach 177.581 MT. Of this total, 71% was shipped abroad with the remaining 29% staying in the USA. Exports increased 4,4% to 126.249 MT, while domestic shipments increased 2,8% to 51.301 MT. The top five export markets by rank were Spain, India, Germany, China

and the UAE. Notably, compared with a slow start last year, exports to China in FY 2008/09 increased 129% to 13.753 MT. From a regional perspective, exports to Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Middle East were impressively 32%, 28%, and 26% higher respectively than the same three month period a year ago.

SPAIN As per latest estimate, the

Spanish crop will reach only 32.000 MT, a substantial reduction from the first forecast mainly due to severe drought conditions in several areas. Small crops send prices to levels substantially higher than those in other origins, especially in selected qualities like Larguetas and Marconas for which prices can easily double California levels. These premium prices are well accepted by quality brands wishing to get something different, and there is enough demand to

absorb the limited offer. Even though prices are higher than the global average, the return does not cover the production cost and yield per acre of the Spanish orchards, and Spanish growers are facing a difficult year.

AUSTRALIA 2009 Australian almond crop has been estimated at 36.100 MT (kernel basis), a 39% increase from 2008.

Estimated World Almonds Production. Kernel basis. Metric Tons COUNTRY Cal. Million Lbs (*) USA (*) Spain Australia Greece Italy Tunisia Iran Turkey Chile Morocco Syria Others WORLD TOTAL

BEGINNING STOCK 134 60.781 5.000 0 0 0 0 0 100 0 0 0 0

2007 /2008

CROP 1.383 627.318 30.000 26.555 12.000 14.969 9.979 9.500 10.200 14.969 8.000 7.000 29.937

65.881 795.458 WORLD CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

TOTAL SUPPLY 1.492 676.766 35.000 26.555 12.000 14.969 9.979 9.500 10.300 14.969 8.000 7.000 29.937

ENDING STOCK 231 104.781 0 0 0 0 0 0 300 0 0 0 0

BEGINNING STOCK 231 104.781 0 0 0 0 0 0 300 0 0 0 0

850.006

105.081 744.925

105.081

2008 / 2009

CROP

1.500 680.395 32.000 26.060 12.000 10.500 10.000 9.500 8.500 8.000 8.000 7.000 30.000

TOTAL SUPPLY 1.686 764.764 32.000 26.060 12.000 10.500 10.000 9.500 8.800 8.000 8.000 7.000 30.000

ENDING STOCK 326 147.873 0 0 0 0 0 0 100 0 0 0 0

843.955

928.624

147.973 780.651

(*) Based on 3% inedible and process loss for both 2007 and 2008 crops.

Source: ABC, ABA and other INC sources.

California Almond Exports

California Almond Exports

1st Qtr. August-October 2008/09

1st Quarter FY 2008/09

Aug - Oct 2008 Western Europe 46%

Others 18%

Asia 32% Eastern Europe 4%

Spain Germany Italy France Netherlands UK Belgium Others Western Europe India China Japan Others Asia Russia Others Eastern Europe Other Regions

Total Exports Source: ABC.

Source: ABC.

MT

Pounds

18.555 14.172 4.700 3.259 4.091 3.866 1.990 6.877 57.511 17.515 13.753 4.794 4.228 40.292 2.520 2.688 5.208 23.239 126.249

40.906.983 31.244.490 10.362.340 7.184.900 9.018.805 8.523.216 4.386.190 15.162.172 126.789.096 38.615.087 30.321.231 10.569.945 9.322.167 88.828.430 5.556.050 5.925.200 11.481.250 51.232.550 278.331.326

% Change from last year

-9% -6% -26% -30% 2% 2% -37%

-12% 1% 129% 11% 28% 34% 32% 4%

AMAZONIA (BRAZIL) NUT COQUITO DE BRAZIL NOIX DE VRESIL NOCE DEL BRASILE PARANร SSE BREZILYA FINDIGI NOU DE BRASIL

The estimated 2008 crop in Bolivia has been revised down to 22.000 MT (in shell), from the previous estimate of 24.000 MT. On the other hand, the Brazilian crop has been bigger than previously forecast, reaching 26.000 MT (in shell).

Estimated World Brazil Nuts Production. Kernel basis. Metric Tons COUNTRY

2007/2008

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

BEGINNING STOCK

Bolivia

1.000

21.000

22.000

1.200

Brazil

2.000

7.000

9.000

Peru

0

2.900

2.900

TOTAL

3.000

30.900

33.900

2008/2009

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

1.200

18.000

19.200

0

800

800

5.000

5.800

300

0

0

3.000

3.000

100

2.000

2.000

26.000

28.000

400

31.900

CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

27.600

Estimated World Brazil Nuts Production. In shell basis. Metric Tons COUNTRY

2007/2008

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

BEGINNING STOCK

Bolivia

0

24.000

24.000

0

Brazil

0

29.000

29.000

Peru

0

6.000

6.000

TOTAL

0

59.000

59.000

2008/2009

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

0

22.000

22.000

0

0

0

26.000

26.000

900

0

0

5.000

5.000

0

0

0

53.000

53.000

900

59.000

CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

52.100

Source: INC.

Brazilian Exports. Jan-Oct 2008. Metric Tons Brazil nuts, In Shell State of Amazonas: USA Hong Kong Australia Argentina Tunisia China Subtotal State of Parรก: Honh Kong Viet nam Romania Australia Tunisia South Africa Subtotal

Total

Brazil nuts, Shelled 2.109 984 41 39 26 26 3.225 1.611 175 134 33 26 3 1.981

5.206

State of Amazonas: USA South Africa Subtotal State of Parรก: USA Australia New Zealand Israel Netherlands Spain Italy South Africa Canada Russian Fed. Malaysia Kuwait Subtotal

Total

Source: Ministry of Development, Industry and Trade of Brazil, Secretary of Foreign Trade (SECEX).

46 16 62 360 176 102 64 48 32 32 28 16 16 7 5 886

948

CASHEW ANACARDO NOIX DE CAJOU ANACARDIO CASHEW CEVIZI ANACARD

The five major cashew producers –India, Vietnam, Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire and Indonesia- accounted for three-quarters of all production in 2008.

The consistently high prices,

the severe economic recession and the worldwide financial crisis have affected consumer spending on cashews. Prices started declining by August and continued to slide throughout the last quarter. Nevertheless, cashew

in international markets. The price decline in US$ terms had been offset by the increase in US$ exchange rate with Indian Rupee.

consumption in India is expected to continue to increase. As per November 2008, rates appeared attractive enough to maintain consumption levels. There was only a marginal decline in prices in spite of the weakness

Estimated World Cashews Production. Kernel basis. Metric Tons RCN Crop by Producing Country. Brazil converted basis 4,8 kg RCN = 1 kg kernel, all others: 4,2 kg RCN = 1 kg kernel.

COUNTRY India WestBEGINNING Africa (*) STOCK 1ST SEP Vietnam Brazil 64.696 East Africa (**) 0 Indonesia Cambodia 0 Philippines Sri Lanka 0 Thailand 64.696 Others WORLD TOTAL

2007/2008

BEGINNING CROP STOCK 0 2006160.000 CROP0 TOTAL 109.500 SUPPLY 0 83.330 93.5770 158.273 44.100 0 40.500 46.6500 46.650 29.500 0 12.000 3.500 3.500 0 1.700 1.400 4.9560 4.956 0 1.100 148.683 213.379 0 5.400

0 488.530 WORLD CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

TOTAL SUPPLY 160.000 ENDING 109.500 STOCK 83.330 34.150 44.100 40.500 0 29.500 12.000 0 1.700 1.400 1.210 1.100 35.360 5.400

2008/2009

ENDING STOCK 0 BEGINNING 0 STOCK 1ST0SEP 34.150 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.210* 0 35.360 0

178.019 488.530

BEGINNING CROP STOCK 0 2007176.000 CROP TOTAL 0 109.500 SUPPLY 0 75.000 158.376 192.526 0 62.500 0 40.500 68.000 68.000 0 29.500 0 12.000 4.050 4.050 0 1.700 0 1.400 1.700 2.910 0 1.100 232.126 267.486 0 5.400

0 488.530

0

TOTAL SUPPLY 176.000 ENDING 109.500 STOCK 75.000 60.980 62.500 40.500 0 29.500 12.000 0 1.700 1.400 545 1.100 61.525 5.400 205.961 514.600

514.600

ENDING STOCK 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 514.600

(*): Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Benin, Senegal, Ghana and Burkina Faso. (**): Tanzania, Mozambique and Kenya. Source: Cashew Export Promotion Council of India, African Cashew Alliance, Sindicaju Brazil and other INC sources.

Indian Data Exports (kernels)

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008 Jan-Oct

Quantity (MT)

121.574

118.805

117.325

115.265

94.603

542,59

603,82

541

547

583

Imports (rawnuts)

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008 Jan-Oct

Quantity (MT)

567.532

565.645

571.474

592.896

592.807

Value (US$ In Millions)

449,30

451

398

382

592

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008 Jan-Aug

USA

48,00

40,60

39,64

36,70

37,40

Netherlands

12,00

14,31

16,25

11,99

13,50

UK

5,30

5,41

4,20

3,49

3,30

Value (US$ in Millions) Major destinations %

UAE

6,20

5,90

7,76

10,90

9,00

Japan

5,50

4,89

3,60

4,61

4,60

Source: Cashew Export Promotion Council of India.

Brazilian Data 2007

EXPORTS (KERNELS) Destinations %

2008 Jan-Oct

51.556

30.130

2007

2008 Jan-Oct

North America

73,7

67,1

EU

13,9

17,6

Latin America

3,4

4,2

Middle East

3,2

4,4

Russia

2,8

2,7

Others

3,0

4,0

Source: Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade of Brazil.

HAZELNUT AVELLANA NOISETTE NOCCIOLA HAZELNUB FINDIK AVELLANA

TURKEY The Turkish hazelnut crop for 2008/09 is estimated at 900.000 MT (in shell basis), up 64% from the previous season.

As of early December, TMO had received 190.000 MT (in shell) from farmers. Price paid was TL 4.-/4.50/5.00 for deliveries in September/October-November/ December-January, respectively. As US Dollar rate went up the second half of October, TMO buying price went down in US Dollar terms, in spite of rise in Turkish Lira price.

As this report was written, kernel export price of size 11-13mm

kernels was at around USD 375/385 and price of 13-15mm at USD 425/435/ 100 kilos FOB/ FOT Turkey.

is around 135.000 MT, a 32% increase from 2007.

As of 30th November 2008, exports reached 114.000 MT (kernels), about 13.500 MT more than the previous period the last season, from 1st September to 30th November. The previous year Turkey exported 208.000 MT (kernels) from 1st September 2007 to 31st August 2008, which was less than normal.

According to the Oregon field office of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, production is expected to drop from last year to 30.800 MT due to cooler than normal weather in summer and cyclical production swings.

ITALY The estimated 2008 crop

USA

According to the 2008 Hazelnut Tree Report, published on October 2008, there has been a slight decrease in the number of operations since 2004, but an increase in number of acres and

trees planted. The area in hazelnut orchards has increased 688 ha (1.700 acres) since 2004. The report shows a total of 3.624.000 trees planted in Oregon. Over half of the trees were planted prior to 1985 and nearly 12% were planted after 2000.

SPAIN As this report was written, the good quality was returning some interest to Spanish users.

Prices have been evolving in accordance to the situation of the international market, and they were well accepted by producers and consumers in general.

Estimated World Hazelnuts Production. Kernel basis. Metric Tons COUNTRY Turkey Italy BEGINNING STOCK 1ST SEP Georgia 64.696 Azerbaijan USA 0 Spain 0 France Russia 0 Croatia Others 64.696 WORLD TOTAL

BEGINNING CROP STOCK 150.000 2006275.000 CROP TOTAL 5.000 44.000 SUPPLY 0 10.000 93.577 158.273 0 12.300 1.114 13.400 46.650 46.650 0 8.100 3.5000 3.500 1.935 0 400 4.956 4.956 0 276 148.6830 213.379 4.139

156.114 369.550 WORLD CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

2007

TOTAL SUPPLY 425.000 ENDING 49.000 STOCK 10.000 34.150 12.300 14.514 0 8.100 0 1.935 400 1.210 276 35.360 4.139

178.019 525.664

ENDING STOCK 172.500 BEGINNING 8.000 STOCK 1ST SEP 0 34.150 0 218 0 450 0 0 0 1.210* 0 35.3600 181.168 344.496

BEGINNING CROP STOCK 172.500 2007450.000 CROP TOTAL 8.000 63.529 SUPPLY 0 14.000 158.376 192.526 0 12.400 218 12.300 68.000 68.000 450 11.700 4.050 4.050 0 2.025 0 400 1.700 2.910 0 276 232.1260 267.486 4.049 181.168

570.679

2008

TOTAL SUPPLY 622.500 ENDING 71.529 STOCK 14.000 60.980 12.400 12.518 0 12.150 0 2.025 400 545 276 61.525 4.049 205.961 751.847

ENDING STOCK 317.500 * 14.000 1.200 1.200 218 900 n/a 0 0 0 335.018 416.829

Estimated World Hazelnuts Production. In shell basis. Metric Tons COUNTRY Turkey Italy Georgia Azerbaijan USA Spain France Russia Croatia Others WORLD TOTAL

BEGINNING STOCK 300.000 10.500 0 0 2.785 0 0 0 0 0

CROP 550.000 95.000 25.000 30.800 33.570 18.000 4.300 800 600 9.300

313.285 767.370 WORLD CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

2007

TOTAL SUPPLY 850.000 105.500 25.000 30.800 36.355 18.000 4.300 800 600 9.300

ENDING STOCK 345.000 17.000 0 0 544 1.000 0 0 0 0

BEGINNING STOCK 345.000 17.000 0 0 544 1.000 0 0 0 0

1.080.655

363.544 717.111

363.544

CROP

2008

900.000 135.000 35.000 31.000 30.800 26.000 4.500 800 600 9.100

TOTAL SUPPLY 1.245.000 152.000 35.000 31.000 31.344 27.000 4.500 800 600 9.100

ENDING STOCK 635.000* 30.000 3.000 3.000 544 2.000 n/a 0 0 0

1.172.800

1.536.344

673.544 862.800

(*): 550.000-600.000 MT (in shell) at Government/TMO. Source: Istanbul Hazelnut and Products Exports Union, Oregon Hazelnut Marketing Board and other INC sources.

MACADAMIA MACADAMIA MACADAMIANUb MAKEDEMIA CEVIZI MACADÀMIA

The 2008/09 Australian production was lowered by 12% to 35.000 MT (in shell), due to adverse hail, heavy frost, and an early flowering.

Production in South Africa has been estimated at 21.500 MT, up 14% from 2007/08, due to improved production conditions and a rise in the number of bear-

ing trees. According to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), domestic consumption in South Africa increased by 10% in 2008 due to increased spending on promotional and advertising campaigns.

US forecast remained unchanged from last year’s estimate at 14.700 MT (in shell). Hawaii’s

stabilized in recent months due primarily to favorable movements in the currency exchange rates.

Domestic consumption in Australia increased by 9% in 2008 and exports from Australia to Japan were also on an upward trend.

European markets remained stable in the lead up to the Christmas season.

2007/08 end of season macadamia harvest was estimated at 16.300 MT net (wet-in-shell), the lowest output since the 1981/82 crop year, according to the USDA, NASS-Hawaii Field Office.

Growers reported adverse weather conditions during maturation.

Demand for kernel in the USA is increasing and prices have

Estimated World Macadamias Production. Kernel basis. Metric Tons COUNTRY

2007

2008

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

3.000

11.600

14.600

2.200

2.200

10.500

12.700

not available

570

4.902

5.472

250

250

5.600

5.850

not available

1.000

3.750

4.750

300

300

3.750

4.050

not available

Kenya

500

2.000

2.500

300

300

2.000

2.300

not available

Malawi

100

1.468

1.568

0

0

1.523

1.523

not available

50

1.230

1.280

20

20

1.250

1.270

not available

Australia South Africa USA

Guatemala Brazil

100

900

1.000

50

50

750

800

not available

Costa Rica

0

200

200

0

0

200

200

not available

Zimbabwe

10

100

110

0

0

100

100

not available

0

450

450

0

0

450

450

not available

5.330

26.600

31.930

3.120

3.120

26.123

29.243

not available

Others WORLD TOTAL

28.810

WORLD CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK) (2007)

Estimated World Macadamias Production. In shell basis. Metric Tons COUNTRY

2007

2008

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

Australia

0

39.700

39.700

not applicable

South Africa

0

18.900

18.900

not applicable

USA

0

14.700

14.700

Kenya

0

11.100

Malawi

0

6.000

Guatemala

0

Brazil Costa Rica

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

not applicable

35.000

35.000

not applicable

not applicable

21.500

21.500

not applicable

not applicable

not applicable

14.700

14.700

not applicable

11.100

not applicable

not applicable

12.000

12.000

not applicable

6.000

not applicable

not applicable

6.100

6.100

not applicable

6.150

6.150

not applicable

not applicable

6.250

6.250

not applicable

0

3.750

3.750

not applicable

not applicable

3.125

3.125

not applicable

0

1.000

1.000

not applicable

not applicable

1.000

1.000

not applicable

Zimbabwe

0

400

400

not applicable

not applicable

400

400

not applicable

Others

0

2.500

2.500

not applicable

not applicable

2.500

2.500

not applicable

WORLD TOTAL

0

104.200

104.200

not applicable

not applicable

102.575

102.575

not applicable

WORLD CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK) (2007)

BEGINNING STOCK

104.200

Source: Australian Macadamia Society, Southern African Macadamias Growers Association SAMAC and other INC sources.

102.575

PECAN PECANA NOIX DE PECAN NOCE PECAN PECANNUb PEKAN CEVIZI PACANA

Mexico’s numbers are off due to the alternate bearing nature of pecans coupled with water shortages in the main growing regions. Over the course of the growing season, water and rain have been scarce to exasperate the situation, very heavy rain in late August and early September caused flooding in Chihuahua, the main pecan growing region in Mexico. This caused water splits in the nuts on the tree and contributed to poorer quality

pecans which will not be of the quality that is used by commercial Shellers.

The US is also in the short cycle of the alternate bearing nature of pecans. Coupling this with the very large size of previous year’s crop, shorter sized crops are expected in all of the main growing regions in the United States. Quality in the US seems good but availability will be short.

up 17% from the previous year, due to higher demand in the confectionary, bakery, and pastry industries. Exports reached 35.000 MT, up 35% compared to the previous season due to increased productivity and strong global demand. The USDA FAS also highlighted an increase in the temporary imports of in-shelled pecans to Mexico for shelling, which are then reexported to the US.

The US carry in is large but the overall quality of this carry in is rather poor. This carry in will be good for “cutting stock”, being used to make pieces for industrial applications.

As of mid November 2008, imports to the US were up, as shipments from Mexico continued to prosper, according to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. Imports to Mexico were forecast to rebound to 18.000 MT,

Estimated World Pecans Production. Kernel basis. Metric Tons BEGINNING STOCK 1ST SEP

CROP

15.368

Mexico South Africa

COUNTRY USA

Australia (*) TOTAL

2007

2008

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

BEGINNING STOCK 1ST SEP

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

71.269

86.637

38.108

38.108

41.652

79.760

15.750

0

30.600

30.600

0

0

14.288

14.288

0

0

2.025

2.025

0

0

2.860

2.860

0

665

1.475

2.140

300

300

1.000

1.300

225

16.033

105.369

121.402

38.408

38.408

59.800

98.208

15.975

82.994

CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

82.233

(*) Beginning stock 1st April. Source: INC.

Estimated World Pecans Production. In shell basis. Metric Tons COUNTRY

BEGINNING STOCK 1ST SEP

CROP

34.150

Mexico

2007

2008

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

BEGINNING STOCK 1ST SEP

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

158.376

192.526

84.685

84.685

92.561

177.246

35.000

0

68.000

68.000

0

0

31.750

31.750

0

South Africa

0

4.000

4.000

0

0

5.500

5.500

0

Australia (*)

1.210

2.950

4.160

545

545

2.000

2.545

500

35.360

233.326

268.686

85.230

85.230

131.811

217.041

USA

TOTAL

CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK) (*) Beginning stock 1st April. Source: INC.

183.456

35.500 181.541

PINE NUT PIÑÓN PIGNON PINOLI PINIENKERNE ÇAM FISTIGI PINYÓ

By October 2008 the market was practically empty. The overall impression is that pine nut demand will exceed supply, and the market price will remain at high level.

Russian Pine Nuts Exports. Metric Tons Jan-Sep 2008

Jan-Sep 2007

2.429 13 8 3 2.453

6.647 11 5 35 6.698

China Germany Ukraine Others Total

2007 Total

12.479 25 10 63 12.577

Source: INC.

Estimated Pine Nut Production. Kernel basis. Metric Tons COUNTRY

2007/2008

2008/2009

BEGINNING STOCK Far East (Pinus chinensis):

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

China

250

8.800

9.050

50

50

9.450

9.500

1.000

Russia

0

7.000

7.000

0

0

8.000

8.000

0

Pakistan

0

2.500

2.500

0

0

4.000

4.000

n/a

DPRK

0

3.200

3.200

0

0

850

850

n/a

Mongolia

0

2.000

2.000

0

0

n/a

n/a

n/a

250

23.500

23.750

50

50

22.300

22.350

1.000

Total Far East Mediterranean (Pinus Pinea): Turkey Spain Portugal

0

1.200

1.200

100

100

1.100

1.200

0

200

1.575

1.775

100

100

525

625

0

0

1.225

1.225

0

0

400

400

0 0

Italy

100

500

600

0

0

200

200

Total Mediterranean

300

4.500

4.800

200

200

2.225

2.425

0

28.550

250 28.300

250

24.525

24.775

1.000

TOTAL

550 28.000 CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK) (2007/2008)

Source: China Chamber of Commerce for I/E, Aegean Exporters’ Association and other INC sources.

Estimated Pine Nut Production. Selected Countries. Kernel basis. Metric Tons China

9.000

Russian Fed.

Mediterranean

Korea DPR

8.000 7.000 6.000 5.000 4.000 3.000 2.000 1.000 0 2003 Source: INC.

2004

2005

2006

2007

Est. 2008

PISTACHIO PISTACHO PISTACHE PISTACCHIO PISTAZIE ANTEP FISTIGI FESTUC

IRAN The 2008 Iranian production was drastically reduced by as much as 73% from last season due to a severe drought during flowering in April.

USA The California crop year 2008 pistachio harvest finished on October. The crop was as expected, over 125.000 MT, down 32% from

last year. Stain levels were low along with a high percentage of split inshell. As per November 2008, pistachio demand continued to be very strong and September had record industry shipments. The California pistachio industry continued to ship to many export markets given the small size of the Iranian crop.

Another strong year for pistachios is expected driven by the health benefits and increased awareness of pistachios. According to

the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, exports to EU, Hong Kong and Russia have expanded in terms of volume and value.

the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. Exports increased 25%, reaching 25.000 MT.

TURKEY

SYRIA

January-November 2008 pistachio exports from Turkey increased by 4,4% compared to the same period previous season.

Most of the crop was consumed in domestic markets as usual.

Production is forecast to reach 55.000 MT, down 21% from 2007. Since in-shell imports were permitted for the first time in many years from June 2008, imports increased 40% over last year to 7.000 MT, according to

Estimated World Pistachios Production. In shell basis. Metric Tons COUNTRY

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

USA

45.000

Iran

2007

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

185.000

230.000

55.000

55.000

5.000

310.000

315.000

25.000

Syria

9.000

70.000

79.000

Turkey

4.833

18.000

Afghanistan

2.000

Greece

2008

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

125.000

180.000

25.000

25.000

85.000

110.000

0

14.000

14.000

55.000

69.000

5.000

22.833

3.300

3.300

47.300

50.600

23.300

27.000

29.000

1.000

1.000

15.000

16.000

1.000

1.000

9.000

10.000

500

500

12.000

12.500

500

n/a

3.600

3.600

100

100

4.500

4.600

100

66.833 622.600 CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

689.433

98.900 590.533

98.900

343.800

442.700

54.900 387.800

Italy TOTAL

Source: Southeast Anatolian Exportersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Association, Antep Pistachio Promotion Group, and other INC sources.

Estimated Pistachio Production. Selected Countries. In shell basis. Metric Tons USA

300.000

Iran

Turkey

Syria

250.000 200.000 150.000 100.000 50.000 0 2000 Source: INC.

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

Est. 2008

WALNUT NUEZ NOIX NOCE WALUNB CEVIZ NOU

CHINA The 2008 Chinese walnut production was initially forecast at 500.000 MT, up 4% from 2007’s 480.000 MT. Such assessment was based on the information collected from the principal origins like Yunnan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang. As season went on, a better crop was confirmed so far in Gansu, Shanxi, Shaanxi, while Yunnan (the biggest walnut origin in China) and Xinjiang are said to be short by 50 and 20% respectively.

The export for the shelled and canned walnuts has gone up by 27 and 32% respectively for the 3rd quarter as compared to the same period of the last season, while the dramatic increase has also emerged in this market for the imports of in shell walnuts, as much as 5,5 times over the last season.

in major consuming countries coupled with high price in origin have put all Chinese shippers in a very tight corner. Production has been underway on a limited scale due to rather high prices in the origins. It is expected that the future development will, to a great extent, depend on domestic consumption.

The Chinese market remains stable due to the brisk local demand. The global economic recession, sharp devaluation of currency against US dollars

USA The 2008 California walnut crop was announced by USDA, National Agricultural Statistics

Services at an estimated 340.200 MT (375.000 short tons), an increase of 15% from 2007’s crop of 294.800 MT (325.000 short tons). While a record production, inventory entering the season totaled 29.160 MT (32.141 short tons), a record low. Total availability, with the exception of the 2007 short crop, is the lowest level seen since 2002. Bearing acreage remains the unchanged at 88.220 of California’s 98.300 total ha (218.000 of 243.000 total acres).

Estimated World Walnuts Production. Kernel basis. Metric Tons 2007/2008

COUNTRY China USA Turkey

2008/2009

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

0

192.000

192.000

0

0

200.000

200.000

0

15.800

126.800

142.600

12.500

12.500

146.300

158.800

16.400

5.800

25.000

30.800

4.000

4.000

28.000

32.000

4.000

0

12.000

12.000

0

0

13.600

13.600

0

Chile

134

9.000

9.134

120

120

11.000

11.120

300

India

1.000

10.000

11.000

800

800

10.000

10.800

1.000

Italy

410

4.600

5.010

320

320

5.000

5.320

500

France

Others WORLD TOTAL

n/a

30.900

30.900

n/a

n/a

31.100

31.100

n/a

23.144

410.300

433.444

17.740

17.740

445.000

462.740

22.200

WORLD CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

415.704

440.540

Estimated World Walnuts Production. In shell basis. Metric Tons 2007/2008

2008/2009

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

ENDING STOCK

0

480.000

480.000

0

0

500.000

500.000

0

USA

36.800

294.800

331.600

29.160

29.160

340.200

369.360

37.674

Turkey

14.500

62.500

77.000

10.000

10.000

70.000

80.000

10.000

COUNTRY China

0

30.000

30.000

0

0

34.000

34.000

0

Chile

322

21.600

21.922

288

288

26.400

26.688

720

India

2.500

25.000

27.500

2.000

2.000

25.000

27.000

2.500

Italy

984

11.040

12.024

768

768

12.000

12.768

1.200

France

Others WORLD TOTAL

n/a

77.200

77.200

n/a

n/a

77.800

77.800

n/a

55.106

1.002.140

1.057.246

42.216

42.216

1.085.400

1.127.616

52.094

WORLD CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

1.015.030

Source: China Chamber of Commerce for I/E, Walnut Marketing Board, California Walnut Commission and other INC sources.

1.075.522

PEANUT CACAHUETE CACAHUÈTE ARACHIDE ERDNUSS YER FISTIGI CACAUET

CHINA

INDIA

USA

ARGENTINA

2008 Chinese crop is forecast to increase by 10% approximately, reaching 15.400.000 MT. Although autumn is usually a busy season for both production and trade, by mid November the market was rather quiet due to inactive demand from home and abroad.

Despite lower prices, Chinese traders and overseas customers were taking a ‘wait and see’ attitude.

The 2008/09 Indian production has been revised upwards to 7.124.000 MT, according to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. Hand Picked Select (HPS) peanuts exports are expected to reach 160.000 MT in MY 2008/09, up 23% over 2007/08, with South East Asian countries as the main destination.

US Production is forecast at 2.264.800 MT (4,99 billion pounds) by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), up 36% from last year. If realized, this will be the largest US production on record. Area for harvest is expected to total 603.000 ha (1,49 million acres), up 25% from 2007.

According to the Argentine Chamber of Peanut (CAM), total estimated planting in Argentina for 2009 is 255.000 ha. As this report was written it was very difficult to forecast production for next campaign since seeding was just starting.

Estimated World Peanuts Production. Farmers stock. Metric Tons COUNTRY

2007/2008

BEGINNING STOCK

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

China

0

14.000.000

14.000.000

0

India

20.000

5.650.000

5.670.000

60.000

USA

689.500

1.667.000

2.356.500

467.700

Nigeria

0

1.550.000

1.550.000

Indonesia

0

1.150.000

1.150.000

0

748.000

748.000

45.000

460.000

505.000

Argentina Vietnam Others WORLD TOTAL

ENDING STOCK

2008/2009

CROP

TOTAL SUPPLY

0

15.400.000

15.400.000

n/a

60.000

7.124.000

7.184.000

134.000

467.700

2.264.800

2.732.500

700.800

0

0

1.500.000

1.500.000

n/a

24.000

24.000

1.150.000

1.174.000

n/a

0

0

722.000

722.000

0

30.000

30.000

450.000

480.000

n/a

0

6.000.000

6.000.000

0

754.500

31.225.000

31.979.500

581.700

BEGINNING STOCK

0 581.700

ENDING STOCK

6.000.000

6.000.000

n/a

34.610.800

35.192.500

834.800

31.397.800

WORLD CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

34.357.700

Source: China Chamber of Commerce for I/E, USDA and other INC sources.

US Peanut Supply and Disappearance. Metric Tons SUPPLY

BEGINNING STOCKS

IMPORTS

PRODUCTION

TOTAL

DOMESTIC FOOD

CRUSH

2006/07

982.900

27.700

1.571.200

2.581.800

1.172.535

2007/08 (*)

689.500

33.100

1.667.000

2.389.600

2008/09 (**)

467.700

18.100

2.264.800

2.750.600

Year beg. Aug. 1

DISAPPEARANCE

SEED & RESIDUAL

EXPORTS

TOTAL

ENDING STOCKS

232.693

213.642

273.516

1.892.386

689.500

1.141.691

224.982

215.003

340.194

1.921.869

467.700

1.165.731

267.619

251.744

365.142

2.050.236

700.800

(*) Estimated. (**) Forecast. Source: USDA. Last update: November 12, 2008

US Peanut Production ans Supply. Metric Tons 3.000.000 2.500.000

2.581.800

2.750.600 2.389.600

2.000.000 1.500.000 1.000.000

2.264.800 1.571.200

1.667.000

2006/2007

2007/2008 (*)

(*) Estimated. (**) Forecast. Source: USDA. Last update: November 12, 2008

Production

Total Supply 2008/2009 (**)

DRIED FRUITS

Estimated World Dates Production. Metric Tons COUNTRY

2007/2008

BEGINNING STOCK 50.000

PRODUCTION

Egypt Iran

2008/2009

ENDING STOCK 80.000

BEGINNING STOCK 80.000

PRODUCTION

1.125.000

TOTAL SUPPLY 1.175.000

125.000

1.130.000

1.255.000

145.000

40.000

870.000

910.000

40.000

UAE

30.000

790.000

820.000

Algeria

25.000

650.000

Pakistan

26.000

Tunisia

Saudi Arabia

1.150.000

TOTAL SUPPLY 1.230.000

ENDING STOCK 120.000

145.000

1.120.000

1.265.000

170.000

40.000

910.000

950.000

35.000

40.000

40.000

760.000

800.000

38.000

675.000

35.000

35.000

620.000

655.000

40.000

480.000

506.000

15.000

15.000

450.000

465.000

15.000

1.300

124.000

125.300

1.500

1.500

130.000

131.500

1.800

USA

200

15.500

15.700

200

200

17.000

17.200

200

Israel

300

15.500

15.800

300

300

16.000

16.300

250

150.000

1.200.000

1.350.000

100.000

100.000

1.150.000

1.250.000

120.000

447.800 6.400.000 WORLD CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

6.847.800

457.000 6.390.800

457.000

6.323.000

6.780.000

540.250 6.239.750

Others WORLD TOTAL Source: INC.

DATES

ment of Agriculture, demand for dried apricots remained stable in 2007/08, at 0,12 pounds per person, lower than in 2005/06, but average for most of the 2000s.

2008 Estimated World Dates Production

Saudi Arabia was the major date producing country in 2008, with 1.150.000 MT. Combined with Egypt and Iraq it produced 51% of the world production.

Saudi Arabia 18%

Others 21%

Pakistan 7%

Egypt 18%

DRIED FIGS

Algeria 10%

DRIED APRICOTS

UAE 12%

Iran 14%

TURKEY

Source: INC.

TURKEY Although earlier estimates were around 79.000 MT, Turkish production was revised upwards to 120.000 MT, up 25% from 2007/08.

In 2007/08 season prices witnessed an increasing trend.

Beginning season 2008/09, price level was quite higher than the previous season, but TL was depreciated in mid October. As per November 15, 2008, the average price level was at 3.100-3.200 USD/tons.

mand increases every year. Unless the situation drastically changes in importing countries, Turkey’s exports could reach about 115.000 MT next season.

USA

Turkish dried apricots de-

According to the US Depart-

Turkey’s 2007/08 production and exports were drastically reduced due to a severe drought and record level of temperatures.

At the end of the season, exports reached 38.746 MT. For the 2008/09 season, production has been estimated at 42.500 MT due to high temperatures by late August and inadequate caprification because of a lack of male fruits.

Turkey’s Dried Apricots Production and Supply. Metric Tons IMPORTS

2006/07

BEGINNING STOCK 30.000

746

2007/08

8.000

597

2008/09

0

500

COUNTRY

Source: Aegean Exporters’ Association.

SUPPLY

PRODUCTION

DISAPPEARANCE

DOMESTIC CONSUMPTION 5.510

EXPORTS

ENDING

90.000

TOTAL SUPPLY 120.746

107.236

8.000

96.000

104.597

4.287

100.310

0

120.000

120.500

5.500

115.000

0

DRIED FRUITS

Estimated World Dried Apricots Production. Metric Tons 2007/2008

BEGINNING STOCK 8.000

PRODUCTION

Iran China

2008/2009

ENDING STOCK 0

BEGINNING STOCK 0

PRODUCTION

96.000

TOTAL SUPPLY 104.000

0

30.000

30.000

0

0

5.000

5.000

0

USA

0

2.500

2.500

South Africa

0

1.200

Australia

0 8.000

COUNTRY Turkey

TOTAL

120.000

TOTAL SUPPLY 120.000

ENDING STOCK 0

0

18.000

18.000

n/a

0

4.500

4.500

n/a

0

0

2.600

2.600

n/a

1.200

0

0

1.400

1.400

n/a

400

400

0

0

450

450

n/a

135.100

143.100

0

0

146.950

146.950

0

CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK) (2007/2008)

143.100

Source: Aegean Exporters’ Association, Kerman Chamber of Commerce and other INC sources.

The first shipment was dated on October 3, 2008. As per November 2008, almost 80% of

the crop had been sold. Following the weakening of TL against USD during the second half of October,

both domestic prices of raw material and interest rates began to increase, as well as packaging

costs. Overall, price of dried figs was up 10% over the previous season.

Estimated World Dried Figs Production. Metric Tons 2007/2008

BEGINNING STOCK 0

PRODUCTION

Iran

0

USA Greece

2008/2009

ENDING STOCK 0

BEGINNING STOCK 0

PRODUCTION

43.500

TOTAL SUPPLY 43.500

25.000

25.000

n/a

n/a

0

13.100

13.100

0

0

10.000

10.000

0

Spain

0

5.000

5.000

Italy

0

4.000

COUNTRY Turkey

TOTAL

0 100.600 CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK) (2007/2008)

42.500

TOTAL SUPPLY 42.500

ENDING STOCK 0

22.000

22.000

n/a

0

11.000

11.000

n/a

0

8.000

8.000

n/a

n/a

n/a

4.500

4.500

n/a

4.000

n/a

n/a

4.000

4.000

n/a

100.600

0 100.600

0

92.000

92.000

0

Source: Aegean Exporters’ Association, Kerman Chamber of Commerce, and other INC sources.

PRUNES USA California’s prune production forecast is 109.000 MT according

to the USDA Economic Research Service November report, up 106% from last year’s below normal crop of 53.000 MT. Overall the crop was reported clean and fruit sizing appeared normal.

Demand of prunes remained strong in 2008/09.

According to the California Dried Plum Board, in 2007 prune acreage amounted to 62.000

bearing (25.100 ha) and 4.000 non-bearing acres (1.600 ha).

Nursery tree sales of prune trees for 2008 totalled 38.000 trees, down from 432.000 the previous year.

Estimated World Prunes Production. Metric Tons COUNTRY USA Chile Argentina France Australia Serbia Italy South Africa TOTAL

2007/2008

BEGINNING STOCK 76.800 11.897 100 22.956 200 0 300 0

PRODUCTION 53.000 42.330 25.000 47.700 3.200 2.851 1.376 1.200

TOTAL SUPPLY 129.800 54.227 25.100 70.656 3.400 2.851 1.676 1.200

112.253

176.657

288.910

CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK) (2007/2008) Source: International Prune Association, USDA and other INC sources.

ENDING STOCK 28.700 5.277 100 23.393 0 0 0 0 57.470 260.356

BEGINNING STOCK 28.700 5.277 100 23.393 0 0 0 0 57.470

2008/2009

PRODUCTION

109.000 50.000 40.000 24.000 3.800 3.000 1.500 1.300

TOTAL SUPPLY 137.700 55.277 40.100 47.393 3.800 3.000 1.500 1.300

ENDING STOCK 15.000 5.000 100 15.000 n/a n/a n/a n/a

232.600

290.070

35.100

DRIED FRUITS

US Dried Prunes. Supply and Utilization, dried basis. Metric Tons. Processed weight SUPPLY

PRODUCTION

2005/06

BEGINNING STOCK 24.500

72.100

7.500

TOTAL SUPPLY 104.100

2006/07

18.000

159.500

1.500

2007/08

76.800

53.000

730

Year beg. Aug. 1

IMPORTS

UTILIZATION

EXPORTS 39.000

ENDING CONSUMPTION CONSUMPTION STOCK PER CAPITA (GR) 18.000 47.200 159

179.000

61.700

76.800

40.500

136

130.530

60.300

28.700

41.550

136

Source: USDA, Economic Research Service.

CHILE According to the Chilean

RAISINS/ SULTANAS/ CURRANTS Raisin production for selected countries is forecast at 1.102.850 MT. Turkey is forecast to experience the highest growth in volume terms, reaching 320.000 MT, up

Prunes Processors and Exporters Association (APECS), exports in 2007 reached 41.000 MT. 2008

exports had very good prospects.

From January to March 2008 exports increased both in terms of

value and volume, 15% and 4% respectively.

33% from the previous year, due to favorable growing conditions.

Since domestic demand is expected to reach 45.000 MT, Turkey forecasts 282.000 MT of exportable volume of Sultanas for this season.

production is forecast to increase about 3% to 325.000 MT in 2008/09. The 2007/08 estimate was revised upwards to 317.500 MT despite some frost damage in midApril and the lack of water in the southern San Joaquin Valley.

by EU countries, the Russian Federation, Canada and Japan.

The European Union accounts for 53% of total imports, being Turkey its key supplier. Other major import markets are Russia and Canada, which totaled 74.500 MT and 36.000 MT respectively in 2007/08.

According to the US Department of Agriculture, United States

Raisins are mainly imported

Estimated World Raisins, Sultanas & Currants Production. Metric Tons COUNTRY

2007/2008

PRODUCTION

3.000

2008/2009

ENDING STOCK 55.000

BEGINNING STOCK 55.000

PRODUCTION

317.500

TOTAL SUPPLY 382.500

240.000

243.000

7.000

7.000

n/a

145.000

145.000

n/a

n/a

Iran

0

120.000

120.000

5.000

Chile

0

60.000

60.000

USA

BEGINNING STOCK 65.000

Turkey China

South Africa

325.000

TOTAL SUPPLY 380.000

ENDING STOCK 17.800

320.000

327.000

17.000

155.000

155.000

n/a

5.000

60.000

65.000

10.000

0

0

55.000

55.000

0

2.000

40.000

42.000

6.800

6.800

42.350

49.150

4.900

Greece

0

25.000

25.000

0

0

32.000

32.000

3.600

Argentina

0

23.000

23.000

500

500

27.000

27.500

500

Australia

1.000

12.000

13.000

500

500

10.000

10.500

500

n/a

71.000

71.000

n/a

n/a

76.500

76.500

n/a

71.000 1.053.500 WORLD CONSUMPTION (TOTAL SUPPLY - ENDING STOCK)

1.124.500

74.800 1.049.700

74.800

1.102.850

1.177.650

17.000 1.160.650

Others WORLD TOTAL

Source: 2008 International Dried Grape Conference, Aegean Exporters’ Association, USDA and other INC sources.

World Raisins Production. Metric Tons

Top Importers. Metric Tons 700.000

Others

Australia

Japan

Canada

Russian Fed.

EU-27

600.000

Others

Chile

Iran

China

Turkey

USA

1.000.000

500.000

800.000

400.000

600.000

300.000

400.000

200.000

200.000

100.000 0

1.200.000

2004/05

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

Marketing year for producer countries begins in August for northern hemisphere, and January for southern hemisphere countries. Marketing year for nonproducer countries begins in August. Intra-EU trade excluded from EU-27 data.

Source: USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service.

0

2004/05

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

Source: International Dried Grape Conference, Aegean Exporters’ Association, USDA and other INC sources.

DRIED CRANBERRIES/BLUEBERRIES Special Report

DRIED CRANBERRIES A relatively new phenomenon has come to prominence in the nut and dried fruit market in recent years. As recently as 1990, the dried cranberry was virtually unknown. In 2009 the global market for this newfound healthy snack food is expected to be in the range of 75.000 MT (160 Million lbs) per year.

Cranberries are grown in 4 major regions in North America: 1. Wisconsin (approx 45% of total production); 2. Massachusetts and New England (25%); 3. Quebec and Eastern Canada (15%); 4. Pacific Northwest (15%); Typically, industrial farms consist of rectangular fields of from 2 to 5 acres (1-2 ha) each.

North American production of cultivated Vaccinium Macrocarpon averages approximately 360.000 MT (800 Million lbs) per year on about 20.000 ha (49.500 acres). There are roughly 900 growers, which means that the average Cranberry farm covers about 22 ha (55 acres).

Over the past 5-8 years, there has been a major shift in the focus of cranberry processing. Whereas the production of cranberry juice used to be the priority of most processors, today it is the dried cranberry. The unpredicted increase in demand for the dried fruit has averaged 20% per year for each of the past 5-6 years. As a result, there have been many instances of shortage over the last 2-4 years. This has mainly been the result of insufficient manufacturing capacity, which takes 18 months to build. Consequently there has been a significant and capital intensive expansion of the cranberry processing industry over a relatively short time, while the supply side of the equation has not changed much over the same period. The larger processing companies have doubled or even tripled their dried cranberry manufacturing capacity over the last 5 years. Their estimated production capacity totals 76.700 MT (169 Million lbs).

Grower prices have doubled over the past 4 years, and the effect is now being seen in the form of increased plantings. It takes 3-5 years for new farms to produce full yield crops, and so significant supplies of additional fruit are still 2-3 years away. While prices are expected to rise for 2009, dried cranberries still represent an excellent value in the market.

Dried Cranberries have gained wide acceptance in the following applications: trail mix, snack food, salad toppings, granola and energy bars, bakery inclusions, cereal inclusions, cheese inclusionsâ&#x20AC;Ś The anti-bacterial properties of cultivated cranberries have been widely tested and proven in many scientific studies. Most doctors prescribe cranberry juice for the treatment of urinary tract infections. It has recently been shown that the reason for this benefit is that a component of the cranberry (proanthocyanidins) inhibits the adhesion of bacteria to human tissue. Since the bacteria cannot latch onto human cells, they are flushed out of the body. Other areas of ongoing research include the treatment for stomach ulcers, and dental cavities.

Recent studies developed by the US Department of Agriculture have shown that cranberry is the number one antioxidant in terms of ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity). Antioxidants are considered to be valuable ingredients in heart health and improving the balance of serum cholesterol in the body.

2008 Estimated Cranberry Harvest REGION

MT

Million Pounds

Wisconsin

180.000

400

Massachusetts/New England

90.000

200

Quebec/Eastern Canada

45.000

100

Pacific Northwest

45.000

100

360.000

800

TOTAL Source: ATOKA Cranberries Inc.

DRIED CRANBERRIES/BLUEBERRIES Special Report

DRIED BLUEBERRIES 2007 World Blueberries Process Production

Dried blueberries are gaining popularity worldwide. In North America there are three major commercial species: Vaccinium Corymbosum (Northern Highbush), Vaccinium Ashei (Southern Rabbiteye) and Vaccinium Angustfolium or what are commonly referred to as â&#x20AC;&#x153;lowbush or wild blueberriesâ&#x20AC;?. In Europe, the species Vacinnium Myrtillus is called the bilberry and most of its production is used for the extraction of anthocyanin pigment for the nutraceutical business. In the highbush blueberry, around 50% of the total production goes to the fresh channel.

In the lowbush, almost all production goes to the processing channel.

In 2008 the field price of blueberries dropped and therefore prices of dried blueberries should theoretically follow.

North America 90% Others 1%

Asia 2%

South America 3%

Europe 4%

Source: US Highbush Blueberry Council

Regarding blueberries, processing typically means freezing, and three different methods are used: Individually Quick Frozen (IQF), Case Frozen and Block Frozen. Dehydration is a new channel for the blueberry industry, and normally frozen blueberries are used to product the various dried products.

2007 World Acreage and Production COUNTRY

Acres

Ha

North America

85.502

South America

33.650

Europe Pacific

Fresh

Process

TOTAL

MT

Million Pounds

MT

Million Pounds

MT

Million Pounds

34.601

77.655

171,2

84.232

185,7

161.887

356,90

13.618

26.399

58,2

2.522

5,56

28.921

63,76

16.705

6.760

20.648

45,52

3.475

7,66

24.122

53,18

2.740

1.109

2.744

6,05

998

2,2

3.742

8,25

Asia

4.615

1.868

1.361

3

2.059

4,54

3.420

7,54

Southern Africa

1.310

530

408

0,9

91

0,2

499

1,10

Mediterranean & N. Africa

215

87

159

0,35

0

0

159

0,35

Central America

60

24

68

0,15

0

0

68

0,15

WORLD TOTAL

144.797

58.597

129.442

285,37

93.376

205,86

222.818

491,23

Source: US Highbush Blueberry Council.

January 2009 â&#x20AC;˘ The Cracker 67

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*ANUARY s 4HE #RACKER

NEWS FROM THE INC NUTRITION RESEARCH & EDUCATION FOUNDATION (INC NREF)

By Maureen Ternus, M.S., R.D. INC NREF Executive Director

Last year ended on a busy note with the completion of the INC NREFfunded diabetes study; publicity of the 2007 Nuts & Health Symposium proceedings; launch of the allergy webinar; publication of the tree nut book, “Tree Nut Nutraceuticals and Phytochemicals: Composition, Phytochemicals, and Health Effects;” and preparation for a mailing to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC). Below you will find an update on all of these projects and more.

PUBLICITY FOR 2007 NUTS & HEALTH SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS Press Release In August 2008, INC NREF sent a press release to national health, nutrition and lifestyle editors at magazines and newspapers across the U.S. The release highlighted some of the major outcomes of the symposium (see sidebar on page 70).

NY Editor Meetings INC NREF arranged for Janet King, Ph.D., co-chair of the 2007 Symposium, to meet with a number of health/nutrition and food editors in New York, October 14-16, 2008. Dr. King did an excellent job of talking about the health benefits of nuts and stressed the use of nuts as a healthy snack and as a tool for weight maintenance.

Each of the editors below was given a copy of the 2007 Nuts & Health Symposium proceedings, nutrition brochures and samples of various mixed nut products. The response to Dr. King and the material was very positive and a few editors have already contacted INC NREF for more information.

Interestingly, the editor at Teen Vogue mentioned that they have the Planter’s mixed nut snack packs in their vending machines and apparently they re quite popular.

INC NREF New York City Editor Desk-side Briefings Publication Circulation All You Bridal Guide Country Living Family Circle Good Housekeeping Ladies Home Journal Parade Redbook Teen Vogue

700,000 175,047 1.65 million 5.01 million 5.30 million 5.05 million 32.4 million 2.23 million 1.5 million

Material/samples were also dropped off for editors at the New York Times and Health Magazine.

4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

Presentation to the American Heart Association Industry Nutrition Advisory Panel (AHA INAP) Members The AHA INAP is made up of AHA Nutrition Committee members and industry representatives.

At the AHA INAP meeting last October, Penny Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., R.D., of Penn State, gave a 45-minute presentation about the 2007 Nuts & Health Symposium. She was a presenter at the 2007 meeting and one of the authors of the proceedings. She did a great job in highlighting the latest research on tree nuts and there was quite a bit of interest. Larry Appel, Ph.D., a member of the AHA Nutrition Committee and a member of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) had a number of questions about nuts and their health benefits. Linda van Horn, another member of the AHA Nutrition Committee and the Co-chair of the 2010 DGAC did not hear Dr. KrisEtherton’s presentation, but she did receive a copy of the proceedings. It was important that these two individuals hear about the health benefits of nuts since the 2010 DGAC is now meeting to determine what changes/updates, if any, need to be made to the 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines.

RESEARCH UPDATE Diabetes Study The two-year diabetes study at the University of Toronto was recently completed and the researchers are now examining the data.

Presentations are planned at a number of health professional meetings throughout 2009. A manuscript should be ready for submission to a journal later this year.

Meta-analysis Dr. Joan Sabaté from Loma Linda University has submitted the meta-analysis to the Annals of Internal Medicine and is waiting to hear if it has been accepted for publication. This has been a long process beginning back in 2003 with the US Food and Drug Administration health claim petition.

Over 20 studies were included in the petition and

Dr. Sabaté analyzed those, along with more recent studies, to look at the protective effect of nuts on heart disease.

Nut Consumption in the U.S. The purpose of this study was to determine the nutritional contribution of nuts and nut products to the U.S. population using the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data and to determine the relationship of nuts and nut products consumption to certain health parameters, namely anthropometric measures, blood pressure, blood lipids, blood folate levels, etc. Risk of metabolic syndrome (a precursor to diabetes) will also be evaluated.

Victor Fulgoni, Ph.D., looked at the nutrient content of diets of individuals who consumed nuts and nut products and compared these diets to those who did not consume nut products. Data was separated by gender and age but not ethnicity.

Nut/nut product consumers were defined as those individuals who consume any amount of nuts and nut products in four different categories: All nuts and nut butters All nuts consumed out of hand All tree nuts and tree nut butters All tree nuts consumed out of hand Six years of data were used (1999-2004). Dr. Fulgoni examined the relationship of nuts and nut products consumption to anthropometric measures (i.e., body weight, height, body mass index, waist circumference and skin folds), blood pressure (i.e., diastolic and systolic), blood lipid levels (i.e., total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, and triglycerides), etc. Risk of metabolic syndrome (having three of more of the following components: increased waist circumference, elevated blood pressure, elevated fasting triglycerides, elevated fasting glucose, and low HDL-cholesterol) was also determined.

Preliminary data was presented earlier this year and showed that nut eaters had lower body mass indices (BMI) than non-nut eaters. A draft manuscript is scheduled to be ready by January 9, 2009. The plan is to share the findings with the 2010 DGAC. PROFESSIONAL OUTREACH Tree Nut Book “Tree Nut Nutraceuticals and Phytochemicals: Composition, Phytochemicals, and Health Effects” was recently published. INC NREF was asked to write an overview chapter on nuts and health. This chapter will be available as a PDF on the INC NREF website early this year.

2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) As many of you know, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines are updated every five years—the last update was in 2005. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) met for the first time last October and will continue to meet throughout 2009. During this time they will review the latest nutrition research to determine if updates/changes need to be made to the current guidelines. In 2005 nuts were highlighted positively, but many feel tree nuts could be promoted even more in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines. As a result, INC NREF has pulled together a variety of materials to send to each of the DGAC members in January 2009 to help them assess the health benefits of nuts. The material includes the proceedings from the 2007 Nuts & Health Symposium; a research reference list showcasing tree nuts studies published in the last five years; the summary paper on the incidence/ prevalence of tree nut allergies; the “Nuts and Health” chapter from the new tree nut book; and data from the U.S. consumption analysis. More information will be sent throughout the year but the goal is to have all tree nut information come from one source—INC NREF. There were complaints in 2005 from the DGAC that they were receiving information/samples from a number of different nut groups/companies and preferred to just get everything from one source.

CIA Meeting INC NREF will be co-sponsoring the “World of Healthy Flavors” (WOHF) conference at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone, in Napa, California, January 22-24, 2009. The CIA and Harvard School of Public Health have teamed up to educate food service chefs about the health benefits of a number of different foods including nuts. INC NREF will exhibit and sponsor a break at the meeting with recipes made by CIA chefs. In addition, Frank Hu, M.D., of Harvard, will discuss the health benefits of nuts, and a cooking demonstration with tree nuts will include panelists Janet King, Ph.D. and Penny Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., R.D.

Immediately following this conference there is a one day “hands-on” meeting called Produce First. This meeting includes the same audience-volume foodservice chefs--and enables them to actually work with nuts and other products in the CIA kitchens. The chefs come from well-known foodservice operations including: Applebee’s

PRESS RELEASE NY Editor Meetings INC NREF arranged for Janet King, Ph.D., co-chair of the 2007 Symposium, to meet with a number of health/ nutrition and food editors in New York, October 14-16, 2008. Dr. King did an excellent job of talking about the health benefits of nuts and stressed the use of nuts as a healthy snack and as a tool for weight maintenance.

Each of the editors below was given a copy of the 2007 Nuts & Health Symposium proceedings, nutrition brochures and samples of various mixed nut products.

The response to Dr. King and the material was very positive and a few editors have already contacted INC NREF for more information. Interestingly, the editor at Teen Vogue mentioned that they have the Planter’s mixed nut snack packs in their vending machines and apparently they re quite popular.

– Continued on page 72

January 2009 • The Cracker 71

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Continued from page 71

Services, Inc., ARAMARK Corporation, Bon Appetit Management Company, Boston Market Corp., Princess Cruises, Sodexo, Subway Restaurants, U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps., and Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.

ALLERGY PROJECTS Allergy Webinar The INC NREF-sponsored allergy webinar is now up and running.

It can be accessed from the INC NREF website or directly at: http://ianrhome.unl.edu/treenuts

Allergy Review At the first 2010 DGAC meeting last October, there were a few comments regarding the issue of nut allergies and their prevalence.

Therefore, INC NREF decided it was very important and necessary to pull together the information available regarding tree nut allergy incidence and prevalence. Currently a consultant is doing an extensive literature search on tree nut allergies in general and is writing a brief review specifically on incidence and prevalence.

The plan is to include this paper in the mailing to the 2010 DGAC members.

For more information on any of the projects listed above please feel free to contact me at mternus@pacbell.net. C

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4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

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Nut

rition Research Update

EU STUDY: END TO FOOD ALLERGY IN SIGHT?

Food allergies could be a thing of the past, if new Europe-wide project achieves its goals of developing treatments for a condition that affects around 10 million EU citizens. The Food Allergy Specific ImmunoTherapy (FAST) project will use modified variants of proteins that cause an allergic response, but the variants will be hypoallergenic and therefore safer. The proteins will be purified making them more effective and making it easier to control the dose, say the researchers.

“We are hoping for a cure that will allow people to eat fish or fruit again,” said Dr Ronald van Ree from the Academic Medical Center at the University of Amsterdam. “But a significant reduction of sensitivity would already be a great step forwards. “The risk of unintentional exposure due to cross-contamination of foods… will decrease.

This will take away lot of the anxiety that has a negative impact on the quality of life of food allergy sufferers.”

An estimated four per cent of adults and eight per cent of children in the 380m EU population suffer from food allergies, according to the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations. This has been mirrored by a boom in the free-from food market that has been enjoying sales growth of over 300 per cent in the UK since 2000, according to market analyst Mintel. The most common food allergen ingredients and their derivatives are cereals containing gluten, fish, crustaceans, egg, peanut, soybeans, milk and dairy products including lactose, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame seed, and sulphites.

Previous attempts to treat food allergies focused on exposure to an allergen extract, but this failed because it could cause anaphylaxis as a side effect. The FAST project will look at the production of modified hypo-allergenic versions of allergic proteins as potential treatments. The project, which has funding for seven years, will include pre-clinical studies for the first half of the time, and this will be followed by phase I and II clinical trials.

The researchers are focussing on two food groups - fish and fruit (apple, pears, peach, cherry) because the allergens are known. “For fish and these fruit the allergy is relatively simple, and there is only really one protein that causes the disease,” Dr van Ree said. The principle could be applied to all food allergies, he said, but in each case specific knowledge of each allergen is needed. In allergies such as peanut several allergens are at play, which complicates the approach. “But in principle, there is no difference for applying the approach to other foods,” he said.

Dr. van Ree said that, assuming the phase II trials are successful, these treatments could be on the market within 10 years. This echoes statements he made at the BA Festival of Science in England in 2006.

A recent study from Germany called into question the statistics behind food allergies, saying that half of the reported food allergies amongst adults are not food allergies at all. According to a paper published by Cornelia Seitz from her co-workers from Wurzburg University in the journal Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, out of the 419 people with suspected food allergies tested in their study, less than 50 per cent actually had a IgE-mediated food allergy. The findings show the importance of accurate diagnosis of food allergies, since a non-existent food allergy can lead to needless dietary restrictions.

CHILDREN REACT TO NUT ALLERGY

A review of allergic reactions in children shows that they mostly occur at home and are triggered by peanuts or cashews and treatment is often delayed. “Health care professionals should ensure that children and their parents are able to recognize the signs and symptoms of allergic reactions. All patients should have a written allergic reaction or anaphylaxis action plan to help facilitate this “ Dr. Mimi L. K. Tang from Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.

Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that develops quickly within seconds or minutes of exposure, causing a life-threatening response of the immune system involving the entire body. The immune system releases histamine and other substances that cause tightening of the airways and shock. Common causes of anaphylaxis are foods, drugs or insect bites.

Tang and colleagues report on their review of case notes on 123 anaphylactic reactions in 117 children over a five-year period. The median age of the children was 2.4 years. Only 17 percent of the children had previously experienced an allergic reaction.

There was 1 death, in a seven-year-old girl with a known peanut allergy who ate a peanut satay sauce. Most events (48 percent) took place at home, and almost all involved breathing and skin symptoms. Gastrointestinal and cardiovascular effects were also common. Food was the most common trigger (85 percent), with peanuts (18 percent) and cashew nuts (13 percent) the most common cause. Six percent of allergic reactions were caused by drugs and 3 percent by insect stings.

The researchers conclude their findings are similar to those of a study conducted in the 1990s in England, “suggesting that triggers for anaphylaxis in children have not changed significantly over the last decade.” *ANUARY s 4HE #RACKER

JUST NUTS ABOUT NUTS

The Children’s Hospital in Oakland, CA recently sent a press release out that highlighted the results of the 2007 Nuts and Health Symposium published in the Journal of Nutrition. Janet King, who co-chaired the symposium, is a Senior Scientist at the hospital. “Tree nuts, irrespective of which nut you’re consuming, have now been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes,” says Dr. King. “There even is evidence that consuming nuts 5 or more times per week, reduces mortality from a heart attack.”

In spite of the benefits of nut consumption, many Americans fail to eat nuts regularly because of their high fat and calorie levels. “Yes, it is true that nuts are high in fat and calories, but the surveys of individuals who eat nuts regularly show that they don’t gain weight – in fact, people who eat nuts seem to be thinner than those who don’t,” Dr. King says.

This could be the result of any number of factors, such as the intake of nuts near dinner time reducing the amount of dinner portions consumed, or the fact that not all the fat in nuts is actually absorbed by the body. In addition to fat fears, consumption could also be reduced by the fact that nuts are grouped as part of the meat and legumes group on the current food pyramid suggesting that one can substitute nuts for meat or chicken.

“I think that sends a strange message to the public,” says Dr. King. “You might have a peanut butter sandwich instead of a turkey sandwich, but would you sit down and have a handful of cashews instead of a pork chop?”

Scientists at the symposium concluded that in the United States in particular, positioning nuts as a healthy snack instead of a meat substitute could enhance nut intake.

“We know that America get about 25% of their daily calories from snacks, so we think it’s more appropriate to encourage nuts as a good snack rather than a meat substitute,” Dr. King says.

In addition to identifying the health benefits of nuts and their current lack of consumption, the Journal of Nutrition publications also highlight the need for continuing expansion of nut research to address a number of issues, such as determining nutrient and vitamin absorption from nuts, understanding better the variety of phytonutrients in nuts and their benefits, and establishing a better way to evaluate daily nut consumption.

As Dr. King says, “We eat nuts in many different ways – as snacks and as ingredients in baked goods, sauces and other recipes, which makes it really difficult to quantitate. If we really want to know their health effects, we need a robust questionnaire or some other way of more precisely determining nut intake.”

While nut researchers clearly have an abundance of research in which to immerse themselves in the next 10 years, the verdict gleaned from the last 10 years of nut research is already in: eating about 1 to 1.5 ounces a day of nuts isn’t nutty at all – but good for your heart and your over all health.

NUT OPPORTUNITY: STEADY GROWTH EXPECTED FOR SNACKING

Despite its reputation for contributing to the expansion of waistlines, snacking is a behavior that is entrenched in the daily routine of American lives, according to a recent report by The NPD Group, a market research company.

After experiencing a period of decline between 1996 and 2002, consumption of snacks has grown steadily and is forecasted to increase by 14 percent by 2017, according to “Snacking in America 2008,” an NPD report.

“A generation ago most Americans believed they should avoid snacking entirely, but today snacking is more acceptable and is clearly the fourth meal of the day,” says Harry Balzer, vice president at The NPD Group. “Twentyone percent of all meals are snacks.”

Although snacking behavior is common among people of all ages, NPD finds that consumption of snack-oriented convenience foods, which generally are eaten between meals as “snacks,” but can be consumed along with meals or as a meal replacement, is growing among kids ages six to 12, but declining among adults 18 to 34 (showing greatest declines) and adults 55 and older. Snacking among younger children ages two to five also is declining.

By 2017, NPD projects kids under nine and adults ages 30 to 39 and 50 to 59 will account for the largest number of snack occasions. “There is an aging curve that shows between-meal eating peaking at a very young age; although children in general remain the heaviest snackers,” says Arnie Schwartz, who heads up the The NPD Group food and beverage business unit. “On the other end of the age spectrum, between-meal eating shows growth after the age of around 60. Because this is where the population is heading, we would expect this behavior to just outpace population growth.”

The time Americans snack is changing, as well, according to the NPD report. Most snacking still occurs in the evening at home, but evening snacking is declining. Morning snacking has shown the strongest growth, and snack foods replace more breakfast meals than other meals. Snacking in the afternoon continues, but remained stable.

The report also found that most snack-oriented convenience foods (e.g., potato chips) are eaten between meals, but these items are increasingly finding their way into meal times as accompaniments or replacements. Among the reports findings: Fruit is the top food eaten between meals anywhere and consumption is up from five years ago, driven by more at-home consumption.

Cookies, candy/gum, ice cream, and chips round out the top five items consumed between meals anywhere.

4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

COULD HEART-HEALTHY PISTACHIOS BE THE NEW POMEGRANATE?

IS SPAIN THE NEW JAPAN OF FUNCTIONAL FOODS?

Pistachio growers in the US are hoping that as another study emerges highlighting the health benefits of pistachios, the nuts may gain the kind of consumer recognition pomegranates have achieved in recent years.

According to research carried out at Penn State University and presented recently at the American Dietetic Association Food and Nutrition conference in Chicago, pistachios significantly reduce inflammation at a cellular level – a recognised risk factor for heart disease – as well as reducing cholesterol and blood pressure. Richard Matoian, executive director of the Western Pistachio Association, which funded the study, said “We have done a lot of work with the university as to how pistachios might be beneficial. Studies like this give manufacturers a good reason to think about including pistachios in their products, to give their products a nutritional profile that they might not find anywhere else.”

He said that most US-produced pistachios are still eaten as snacks, with only around ten per cent used as a food ingredient, but he hopes that as studies highlight pistachios’ heart-health benefits, they will be sought out by consumers. He envisages bakery manufacturers using pistachios not only for flavour but perhaps also to enrich flour.

“Providing the reason and rationale makes them think about it,” he said. “Pomegranates are in everything now, as studies emerged about their health benefits and with increased consumer awareness. We want to raise the profile of pistachios, as has happened with pomegranates.”

The study, conducted by researchers at Penn State University, looked at risk factors for cardiovascular disease including cholesterol and examining changes in marker genes for inflammation. It found that including three ounces of pistachios as part of a heart-healthy diet decreased total cholesterol by 8.4 per cent and that pistachios’ high lutein content reduced levels of oxidized low-density lipoproteins (LDL) – the so-called ‘bad’ cholesterol – by 11.2 per cent.

Pistachios contain more lutein - an antioxidant also found in dark green leafy vegetables - than other nuts, and the researchers found that the higher the quantity of pistachios, the greater the reduction of oxidised LDL, a major contributor to plaque formation in arteries. “In addition to the effect of pistachio-rich diets on markers of inflammation, we also found that diet-induced changes in gene expression may help explain changes in heart disease risk factors following consumption of pistachio-rich diets,” said Sarah Gebauer, one of the researchers who conducted the study.

Participants of the randomized, crossover study were fed three different controlled diets, one without pistachios, one containing 1.5 ounces – about a handful - and one containing 3 ounces. Half of the nuts were consumed as a snack and half incorporated into foods such as muesli, muffins and pesto. Further studies are being carried out on possible benefits of pistachios for diabetics as well as their potential for improving satiety.

One quarter of Spain’s foods are functional, making it one of Europe’s most dynamic and successful market, according to a report presented recently to the EU-funded European Functional Foods Net. A research scientist at the Spanish arm of Swiss food group, Hero, wrote that the Spanish functional foods market was worth 3.5bn in 2006 and growing at about 15 per cent annually. ‘Functional Foods in Spain: an industry Perspective’, reports that functional foods accounted for a 26 per cent share of the Spanish food market in 2007.

Although definitions vary as to what is a functional food (depending on the overall health profile of the food and the manner in which it may or may not have been fortified), this figure is very high and may make Spain the highest uptakers of functional foods in Europe, possibly the world.

Japan has long been held in such regard, as many functional food innovations have sprung from there and it is widely regarded as the birthplace of the functional foods movement, as the probiotic one-shot drink, Yakult, was launched there in the 1950s. Spain’s functional food market, like those in many other countries, began to boom in the 1990s for several reasons including a greater public concern about health; favorable regulation changes; government initiatives; technological advances; and scientific backing.

The embrace of western lifestyles that had seen home-cooking decline and fast food consumption increase, had driven an interest in functional foods as consumers sought to counter unhealthy dietary habits. The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fish and Food noted in 2001 that there had been a decrease in consumption of complex carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits, red wine and sugar, and an increase in fish, dairy products and meat consumption.

As a result obesity and overweight rates have risen significantly along with associated diseases such as diabetes which had spurred growth in specialty foods. In addition, the public was coming to accept the health benefits of functional foods, especially those backed by clinical data.

Mintel stats show Spain had the fifth most functional food launches (94) in Europe in 2007. France had the most with 154, followed by the UK (153), Germany (142) and Italy (118). Between the years of 2000 and 2004 Spain had the most functional foods launches in the EU but has subsequently been pegged back other members of ‘the big five’.

In 2008, Spain saw 41 products debuted on its market compared to 111 in the UK, 100 in Germany, 67 in Italy and 59 in France. *ANUARY s 4HE #RACKER

KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ALLERGIES IMPACTS THOSE AFFLICTED

The level of knowledge and understanding of children with food allergies varies significantly across three key groups: pediatricians and family physicians, the general public and families who have a child with food allergies. The article describing the new findings was published in the September issue of BioMed Central Pediatrics. The research group, led by Ruchi Gupta, MD MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Children’s Memorial Research Center, found that misconceptions around food allergy are prevalent among the general public; parents have good knowledge but face many daily challenges; and that physicians differ in their approach to diagnosis and advice for children with food allergies.

The results show that parents of children with food allergies have solid knowledge but experience high levels of anxiety as they worry about their children eating the wrong foods. As one mother said “You are so fearful of anaphylaxis and death. It is this kind of unknowing, this uncertainty of what degree of reaction it’s going to be.”

Parents felt food allergies impacted every aspect of their lives, including daily functioning, relationships, work and marriage. As one father put it, “My wife is much more into 100 percent prevention all the time and I am more into trying to maximize what my son can do.” Many mothers felt their careers suffered or stopped due to the need to protect their child from harmful foods at all meal times.

Physicians had basic knowledge of food allergies and anaphylaxis but differed on their approach to diagnosis and the advice they offered families about breastfeeding and introduction of solids. The general public varied in its knowledge of the symptoms and triggers of food allergies. They also tended to overestimate food allergy prevalence and were inclined to over diagnose food allergies in themselves and in their children. As one person put it, “I really think every single person has an allergy they do not know about.” As for quality of life -- one mother stated, “One of my daughter’s friends is allergic to nuts, and I have to be very careful when we have her over for a play date.”

This study helped develop a survey about knowledge, attitudes and beliefs for parents of children with food allergy, physicians and the general public. The surveys were validated and reviewed. This set of studies will help increase knowledge around food allergy in three very important groups to improve the health and lives of children and families with food allergy.

The study was supported by grants from the Food Allergy Project which was created by the Bunning Food Allergy Center at Children’s Memorial Research Center and Children’s Memorial Hospital. In 2003, Denise and David Bunning, whose two sons suffer from severe, life-threatening food allergies established the foundation with an $8.5 million, five-year, multi-center food allergy program. The Bunnings have long been committed to advancing education, awareness and research of the growing prevalence of food allergies in children.

STUDY LINKS GENES, OBESITY AND COLON CANCER

Researchers found that people who inherit a variation of a gene called ADIPOQ, which results in the formation of a fat hormone called adiponectin, are 30 percent less likely to develop colon cancer. People identified without this gene variant, or who have excessive blood levels of the fat hormone, would therefore benefit from early colon examinations, said Boris Pasche, professor at the University of Alabama Comprehensive Cancer Center and lead author of the study.

“Our hope is that we can significantly improve the screening and early detection for this disease, and open new avenues for better understanding the genetic and lifestyle factors that influence colon cancer risk,” said Pasche.

A third of people with colon cancer have a family history of the disease, he said. Scientists have already proven a link between obesity and genetics, and that colon cancer is influenced by genetics. The latest study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first to prove a three-way connection between genetics, obesity and colon cancer risk.

The study showed that test subjects who did not have the genetic variation could reduce their risk through physical exercise and dieting to lose weight. Colon cancer is the third deadliest cancer in the United States. Nearly 150,000 Americans are diagnosed each year, and 50,000 of those diagnosed die from the disease, according to estimates from the American Cancer Society.

AVOIDING PEANUTS NOT KEY TO PREVENTING ALLERGIES

Despite recommendations to avoid peanuts during pregnancy and breastfeeding, new research suggests that early exposure is associated with a lower rate of peanut allergy.

The study looked at peanut allergy rates and diet histories in 5,171 Jewish children from the United Kingdom, where government regulations recommend women avoid peanuts during pregnancy and while breastfeeding, and 5,615 Jewish children from Israel, which has no such recommendations. Children from the U.K. had a higher prevalence of peanut allergies at 1.85 percent, versus 0.17 percent for the Israeli children. The study appears in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

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SELENIUM EASES ONSET OF METABOLIC SYNDROME?

An increased intake of selenium may decrease risk factors for metabolic syndrome and inflammation, suggests a new study from Spain. Brazil nuts are high in selenium. Researchers from the University of Navarra in Pamplona report that selenium status appears to be linked with serum complement factor 3 (C3), which has been reported to be a marker for increased risk of the metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a condition characterised by central obesity, hypertension, and disturbed glucose and insulin metabolism. The syndrome has been linked to increased risks of both type 2 diabetes and CVD. Writing in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the researchers state: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We report here for the first time an association between circulating C3 and nail selenium concentrations.â&#x20AC;?

Selenium levels have been falling in Europe since the EU imposed levies on wheat imports from the US, where soil selenium levels are high. As a result, average intake of selenium in the UK has fallen from 60 to 34 micrograms per day, leading to calls from some to enrich soil and fertilizers with selenium to boost public consumption.

Selenium-enriched fertilizers are used in Finland. The European recommended daily intake (RDI) is 65 micrograms.

The recommended EC Tolerable Upper Intake Level for selenium is 300 micrograms per day.

One hundred healthy young adults with an average age of 20.7 and an average BMI of 21.6 kg per m2 were recruited. Lifestyle features were analysed and blood pressure measurements taken, while finger nail samples were taken to measure selenium concentrations. Using data from fasting blood samples, the researchers found that higher C3 levels had a positive association with several measures, including BMI, waist circumference, blood glucose levels, and triacylglycerol levels. On the other hand, selenium levels measured from the finger nails were negatively associated with C3 concentrations, they said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These findings suggest a possible role for selenium intake in the modulation of C3, whose assessment may be an early marker of metabolic syndrome manifestations.â&#x20AC;?

The Pamplona-based scientists added that the results should be interpreted with caution since there is a lack of adequate food content tables for selenium, and these are necessary to confirm that selenium concentrations in nails are reliable markers of selenium intake.

*ANUARY s 4HE #RACKER

SOME FATS HELP, SOME HARM YOUR HEART

Many people with heart disease try to banish fats, but they’re missing out on lots of foods that can protect the heart.

Avocados, nuts, fish, olive oil -- they’re all fatty, and they can all help keep you alive.

But other fats act as napalm to the heart. You can’t protect your heart by simply counting fat grams, says Alice Lichtenstein, director of the cardiovascular nutrition laboratory at the USDA’s Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. “It’s the type of fats that matter.”

Fats to avoid Trans fat: An artery-clogging element of partially hydrogenated oils, trans fats are found in many fried foods, commercial baked goods, and stick margarine. These fats increase your LDL (bad cholesterol) while lowering your HDL (good cholesterol), weakening your natural defenses against heart disease. Harvard researchers have estimated that banning trans fats from the American diet could prevent some 228,000 heart attacks each year.

Saturated fat: While it isn’t quite as destructive as trans fat, saturated fat is much more abundant. The saturated fat in meat or dairy products encourage a buildup of plaque in the arteries by increasing LDL (bad cholesterol) levels in the blood. A recent study found that saturated fat also inhibits the anti-inflammatory benefits of HDL (good cholesterol), while fats from fish, grains, and nuts boosted it.

Heart-healthy fats Unsaturated fats: The types of fats found in olive oil, canola oil, nuts, avocados, and fish can actually clear LDL while boosting HDL. A study by Harvard and Johns Hopkins researchers found that swapping a diet high in carbohydrates for one that’s high in unsaturated fats improved the cardiovascular profile of 164 adults over a six-week period. The unsaturated fat diet decreased blood pressure, increased HDL, caused no significant increase in LDL, and lowered triglycerides.

Omega-3 fatty acids: Found in cold-water fish, omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to prevent blood clots, lower blood pressure, and slow the buildup of plaque in the arteries. Large studies suggest that this fat can lower the risk of heart disease by more than 35 percent and can reduce the risk of sudden death from heart attack by more than 50 percent.

The landmark Lyon Diet Heart Study found that heart attack survivors who adopted a Mediterranean-style diet -low in red meat and dairy but rich in olive oil, nuts, fish, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables -- lowered their risk of heart attacks, sudden death, and cardiac events by 50 percent to 70 percent.

PORTION SIZE COUNTS

Nutrition experts say portion control is one of the biggest factors in successfully losing weight. “If people could cut down on their portion sizes, this would be the single greatest way to combat the creeping obesity epidemic,” said Madelyn Fernstrom, founding director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Weight Management Center. “It’s such a simple concept, but it’s hard to do.

There’s so much hidden fat in food, it’s hard to know what a serving size is.”

Just “100 calories a day more than you need adds up to 10 pounds in one year,” said Miriam Pappo, clinical nutrition manager at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. “That’s only one or two tablespoons of salad dressing,” she added. A recent study of 120 healthy adults found that when people were given the right size portions, their weight loss efforts were much more successful. Men in the study were told to eat about 1,700 calories daily, while the women were advised to eat 1,365 calories.

Both groups were also told that their diet should consist of 55 percent carbohydrates, 25 percent protein and 20 percent fat.

In addition, 30 men and 30 women were given prepackaged entrees of meat and rice and were told to add two large salads, fruit and two glasses of skim milk a day. The remaining men and women were coached on making healthy choices but were allowed to select their own portions.

In two months, the women given prepackaged portions lost 12 pounds, while those who selected their own portions only lost eight pounds. The men eating prepackaged portions lost 16 pounds, versus 11 pounds for those who controlled their own portions.

Fernstrom also said that today’s dinner plates are simply too big. She recommends eating from salad plates all the time. You can always go back for more food if you’re still hungry, she said. Pappo said using the “plate method” can also be helpful. Half of your plate should be vegetables, one-quarter should be protein, and the remaining quarter set aside for a starchy food.

4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

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There’s no magic bullet for dropping pounds and keeping them off, but there are many practical ways to approach weight loss. Researchers presented hundreds of studies in Phoenix recently at the annual meeting of the Obesity Society, an organization of weight-loss researchers and professionals.

100-Calorie Packs Help Snackers Snack Less People who nibble on treats from 100-calorie packages like Blue Diamond’s snack packs consume a lot fewer calories — about 120 fewer a day — than those who are eating from a regular-size bag. It seems like common sense, and now researchers have the proof that it’s true.

Nanette Stroebele and colleagues at the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado-Denver gave 59 participants a variety of free snacks. One week, half of the participants picked three of their favorite 100-calorie snacks from a selection of chips, crackers, pretzels and cookies. Another week they took home the same three snack foods in standard packages.

The other half of the participants ate from the bigger bags the first week and then another week they ate 100-calorie packs. They recorded how much they ate in food diaries, and they weighed what was left in the regular bags. Findings: s People ate 120 calories a day less when they were eating from 100-calorie packs than when they were given the regular packages. s People consumed 300 to 8,007 calories from snacks a week, which translates to a range of 43 to 1,144 calories from snacks a day. Those who ate less tended to eat from the smaller bags. s Those who started out with the 100-calorie packs ate about 850 calories less in a week from the regular bags than participants who ate from the big bags first.

The Lesson: “If you have snacks at home, the smaller packages will help you consume less,” Stroebele says.

A half-plate of veggies really does cut calories For years, nutritionists have advised dieters to fill half their plates with vegetables to cut calories and improve their health.

The theory is that because vegetables are lower in fat and calories than many other foods, people will fill up on fewer calories. But this practical suggestion has never been tested. So researchers at Pennsylvania State University had 48 men and women, ranging from normal-weight to obese, come into the food laboratory for a meal once a week for six weeks.

The foods were the same each time: broccoli, beef pot roast and rice pilaf, but the calories in the meals were varied in a couple of ways. The proportion of broccoli on the plate ranged from 25% (1¼ cups) to 38% (1¾ to 2 cups) to 50% (2½ cups). When researchers added broccoli, they decreased the serving sizes of roast beef and rice pilaf.

To further vary calories, they flavored the vegetables with either real butter or a low-calorie, light-butter flavoring mixture. The latter technique reduced the energy density, or calories per bite, of the broccoli. They found that people: s Consumed an average of 33 fewer calories at the meals in which the plate was 38% or 50% vegetables. s Ate 53 fewer calories when the vegetables were flavored with the light-butter flavoring mixture. s Consumed 86 fewer calories when half the plate was vegetables that were seasoned with the light-butter flavoring. That was a 16% reduction in the meal’s total calories. s Weren’t any hungrier after eating the lowest-calorie meal. s Ate 2.6 servings of vegetables from the 50% veggie-plate compared with 1.8 servings from the 25% plate. *ANUARY s 4HE #RACKER

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82 The Cracker • January 2009

MEDITERRANEAN DIET PLUS NUTS HELPS MANAGING METABOLIC SYNDROME

A traditional Mediterranean diet with an additional daily serving of mixed nuts appears to be useful for managing some metabolic abnormalities in older adults at high risk for heart disease, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The metabolic syndrome is a set of metabolic abnormalities that includes abdominal obesity and high cholesterol, high blood pressure and high blood glucose levels, all of which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, according to background information in the article. “Development of the metabolic syndrome depends on a complex interaction between still largely unknown genetic determinants and environmental factors, including dietary patterns,” the authors write.

A traditional Mediterranean diet—characterized by a high intake of cereals, vegetables, fruits and olive oil, a moderate intake of fish and alcohol and a low intake of dairy, meats and sweets—has been associated with a lower risk for metabolic abnormalities. Jordi Salas-Salvadó, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Rovira i Virgili, Spain, and colleagues assessed 1,224 participants in the PREDIMED (Prevencion con Dieta Mediterranea) study who were age 55 to 80 and at high risk for cardiovascular disease. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: one group received advice on a low-fat diet while two received quarterly education about the Mediterranean diet. One of the Mediterranean diet groups was provided with 1 liter per week of virgin olive oil and the other received 30 grams per day of mixed nuts.

At the beginning of the study, 61.4 percent of the participants met criteria for the metabolic syndrome. After one year, 409 participants in the Mediterranean diet plus olive oil group, 411 in the Mediterranean diet plus nuts group and 404 in the control group of low-fat diet advice were available for evaluation. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome decreased by 13.7 percent among those in the nut group, 6.7 percent in the olive oil group and 2 percent in the control group.

Participants’ weight did not change over the one-year period. However, the number of individuals with large waist circumference, high triglycerides or high blood pressure significantly decreased in the Mediterranean diet plus nuts group compared with the control group. This suggests that components of the diet, principally the nuts, may have beneficial effects on pathophysiological characteristics of metabolic syndrome, such as oxygen-related cell damage, resistance to the effects of insulin or chronic inflammation. The Mediterranean diet is high in unsaturated fatty acids; in addition, nuts also contain beneficial nutrients such as fiber, arginine, potassium, calcium and magnesium.

“Traditionally, dietary patterns recommended for health have been low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets, which generally are not palatable,” the authors conclude. “The results of the present study show that a non–energyrestricted traditional Mediterranean diet enriched with nuts, which is high in fat, high in unsaturated fat and palatable, is a useful tool in managing the metabolic syndrome.” A longer follow-up of the PREDIMED study participants may provide stronger evidence of the cardiovascular benefits that could result, they note.

GET ANTIOXIDANTS WITH NUTS

Antioxidants are substances that work to inhibit the oxidation of cells in the body. Oxidation of cells contributes to cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and aging. Antioxidants occur naturally in many fruits and vegetables--especially ones rich in color--and nuts. Nutritionists champion an antioxidant-rich diet.

Antioxidants work in concert with other chemicals present in whole foods in ways that scientists and nutritionists still don’t understand. Consuming antioxidants as additives reduces their effectiveness. If you eat food the way nature packaged it, you’re going to be better off. A diet that includes a variety of leafy greens, colorful fruits and vegetables, legumes and raw nuts and seeds is best, says many experts on the subject. *ANUARY s 4HE #RACKER

DRIED PLUMS OFFER ANTIOXIDANTS FOR BEEF

Antioxidant-rich dried plums may be a natural alternative to synthetic preservatives for boneless beef roasts, suggests research from the Americas. Processed boneless beef roast prepared with a puree of dried plums produced only “marginally detectable differences” in the taste, according to research to be published in an upcoming issue of Meat Science.

The study adds to previous research from the same groups at the University of Oriente in Venezuela and Texas A&M University indicating the potential of the plum ingredients in processed meat products. Interest is growing in plant-derived food additives as replacements to synthetic antioxidants like butylhydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylhydroxytoluene (BHT) to slow down the oxidative deterioration of food. According to Frost and Sullivan, the synthetic antioxidant market is in decline, while natural antioxidants, such as herb extracts (particularly rosemary), tocopherols (vitamin E) and ascorbates (vitamin C) are growing, pushed by easier consumer acceptance and legal requirements for market access.

The new research, funded by the California Dried Plum Board and Texas AgriLife Research, suggests that purees of dried plum, or dried plum mixed with apple, may be used as food ingredients in ready-to-eat meat products, like roast beef. Typically, the oxidative deterioration of meat and meat products is caused by the degradation reactions of fats and pigments. Oxidation processes in food can lead to organoleptic deterioration in taste, colour and texture The researchers, led by Professor Jimmy Keeton from Texas A&M, prepared the beef roasts by adding a brine containing no plum ingredient (control), dried plum juice (2.5 or 5 per cent), fresh plum juice concentrate (2.5 or 5 per cent), or spray dried plum powder (2.5 or 5 per cent). The roasts were then cooked, vacuum-packed and refrigerated for 10 weeks.

Keeton and co-workers report that all the plum ingredients exerted an antioxidant effect, as evidence by a reduction in TBARS values. Moreover, the ingredients exerted only a a minimal impact on scores of tenderness, as well as on taste, colour and appearance. The best results were observed for 2.5 per cent dried plum juice and fresh plum juice concentrates, said the researchers. “These results indicate that 2.5 per cent fresh plum juice concentrates or dried plum juice could be incorporated into precooked beef roasts to reduce lipid oxidation and potentially, warmed-over flavour,” concluded the researchers.

The use of such natural additives has the extra advantage of the health benefits associated with the extracts.

Research from Oklahoma reported that the dried fruit has potential as a functional food ingredient since results from a rat study reported a potent effect on bone metabolism and prevention of the deterioration in bone mass.

SELENIUM MAY PREVENT FEMALE BLADDER CANCER

Increased levels of selenium may reduce a woman’s risk of bladder cancer by 34 per cent, according to a new study from the US. Brazil nuts are a good source of selenium. Researchers from Dartmouth Medical School also report significant risk reductions for moderate smokers and people with a cancer related to a specific gene – p53.

Other studies have already reported similar association between selenium and bladder cancer among women, but the new results, published in the December issue of Cancer Prevention Research, are said to be the first to show an association between selenium and p53 positive bladder cancer. “Ultimately, if it is true that selenium can prevent a certain subset of individuals, like women, from developing bladder cancer, or prevent certain types of tumours, such as those evolving through the p53 pathway, from developing, it gives us clues about how the tumours could be prevented in the future and potentially lead to chemopreventive efforts,” said lead researcher Margaret Karagas.

Selenium levels have been falling in Europe since the EU imposed levies on wheat imports from the US, where soil selenium levels are high. As a result, average intake of selenium in the UK has fallen from 60 to 34 micrograms per day, leading to calls from some to enrich soil and fertilizers with selenium to boost public consumption.

Selenium-enriched fertilizers are used in Finland. The European recommended daily intake (RDI) is 65 micrograms.

The recommended EC Tolerable Upper Intake Level for selenium is 300 micrograms per day. C

4HE #RACKER s *ANUARY

A

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To be a part of the action, please call Joshua Setton in New York at 631-543-8090 or email joshua.setton@settonfarms.com

January 2009 • The Cracker 85

86 The Cracker â&#x20AC;˘ January 2009