almonds in trouble

[Guest guest]

This note was passed on from a friend of mine. People need to realized what

controls are possible.

Kathy

*Dear Sally,*

Starting in August or September of 2007, raw almonds available in the USA,

Canada and Mexico, will no longer be " truly raw " due to a mandate passed by

the USDA, FDA and the California Almond Board, announcing that all almonds

including organic must be pasteurized. Link above:

The problem is the law has been passed with little public input(if any) or

notification whatsoever. In addition all pasteurized almonds available in

the marketplace will still be labeled as raw almonds. Can this be considered

fraudulence or an out right lie? Are you willing to give up your food

freedom choices?

The primary reasons for passing this law are two isolated outbreaks of

salmonella, in conjunction with conventional almond farms a few years ago.

To the best of our knowledge no salmonella outbreaks have EVER been

associated with organic almonds.

Within the past 10 years tomatoes, spinach, green onions, peanuts, grapes,

melons, lettuce, and sprouts have all been linked to salmonella outbreaks.

Does that mean we should eliminate all fresh produce? Absolutely not!!!

Almonds, the heartbeat of all nuts, literally, have been associated with

reduced risk of heart disease, a rich source of calcium, magnesium, vitamin

E, protein, fiber and antioxidants to name a few . These amazing and life

enhancing health benefits, will be devastatingly reduced if not completely

eliminated in the pasteurization process. Three of the potential suggested

methods of pasteurization are:

-Propylene oxide(PPO) fumigation(propylene oxide was also used as an

insecticidal fumigant till 1988 when its registration was terminated.

California prop.65 rates PPO as a carcinogen. Cited from www.mbow.org)

-High heat(which degrades the integrity of the nuts and enzyme structure).

-Steam pasteurization (will also further devalue the nutrients, enzyme

activity and antioxidants.)

This is a call to all those who care about their health, we need to join

forces by bringing this to the attention of everyone from the mass media to

the common consumer before it goes any further than almonds! It is our basic

right to choose unprocessed foods! We have created a petition that we will

present to the California Almond Board, the FDA and the USDA. Go to

www.livingnutz.com and click on the almond pasteurization petition link on

the front of our page and sign your name as well as your state, town, and

zipcode. E-mail us at info@... with any other questions, media

relations, ideas or information you may have relevant to this cause.

To sign the petition, click

here!<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=ep6al5bab.0.gmadl5bab.5kgeiybab.1662 & ts=S0235 & p=ht\

tp%3A%2F%2Fwww.gopetition.com%2Fpetitions%2Fmandatory-almond-pasteurization-is-w\

rong.html>

*Sincerely,*

Jackie & Gideon Graff

Sprout Raw Food

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Cheers,

Kathy