Is there a difference between Iranian and US pistachios?
What is the general shelf life of nuts?
The shelf life for raw nuts is about 1 year. For roasted and salted nuts it is approximately 6-8 months for a fresh taste. As a rule of thumb the higher the fat content of the nut, the shorter the shelf life.
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Are nuts fattening?
Contrary to traditional beliefs nuts are not proven to be fattening. They contain unsaturated fats, which are not fattening and are even considered beneficial.
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Are nuts unhealthy?
Various studies have shown that nuts should be part of a healthy diet and that the benefits of consuming nuts on a regular basis are many. For more information look under our health benefits of nuts chapter.
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Is there a difference between Iranian and US pistachios?
There are several differences between the two: Iranian nuts have a stronger flavor and come in more varieties. US pistachios have a prettier appearance in that they are white and more uniform in shape, but the flavor is not as defined. The good news is however, that here at IRECO our special roast makes the California pistachios much tastier.
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What is aflatoxin?
Aflatoxin can be found in all agricultural products and food. Aflatoxines are a type of Mykotoxine, exist in a large number of food, like for example in wheat, barley, oat, corn, rice, sesame, seasonings, nuts, milk, coffee, meat products, cheese, eggs, beans, soy beans, Cacao etc., (Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, report No. 16, November 1989, USA).
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Is aflatoxin dangerous?
There are those who believe that aflatoxine is not dangerous. For example
a common research program, executed and supported on the part of six international organizations, namely United Kingdom Imperial Cancer Research, United States food of and Drug administration, American institutes for Cancer Research, CPC International Inc., Academy of Preventive Medecine NIH Grant 5R01CA33638 and Chinese Academy of Preventive Medecine. Dr. Frank Mosebar, former President DFA of California (USA), Dr. Leonhard Stoloff, retired expert of Food and Drug administration (USA), and world expert on Aflatoxin, . Dr. T. Collin Campell and his research staff (USA). On the other hand, based on the laboratory examinations for small animals, who were fed with a high dosage of Aflatoxin regularly, the opinion became generally accepted that Aflatoxin B1 is liver cancer provoking. The laboratory examinations were executed at small animals like rats or trouts with a high dosage of aflatoxin. These animals were fed 20 PPB on a daily Aflatoxin-Diet during 12 months, (R. Sinnhuber, Oregon State University, Corvallis,) and (Coucil for Agricultural Science of and Technology, report nr. 116, Nov, 1989,.) Based on these examinations results the legislation laid down the tolerance limits for Aflatoxin in food, which differ in every country, except EU, but they are in no relationship to the quantities, with which the examinations were conducted and which could relate to human body and it's resistance
It is to be noticed that the effectiveness of a poisonous substance is dependent on 3 factors, namely
• the quantity of the material
• the frequency of the intaking
• the resistance of the body.
Between 1968 and 1985, examinations were executed in Swaziland, Philippines, Thailand, Uganda, Kenya and Mozambique on sections of the population, daily, on an daily intake of Aflatoxin of 3 to 222 ng/kg body weight, therefore an extremely high quantity and regular intake, (Council for Agricultural Science of and Technology, report nr. 116 of Nov 1989,.)
The examinations, that were executed until 1980, considered less complex causes of the liver cancer and assumed Aflatoxin B1 as the sole cause. Since 1980, the connection of hepatitis B and Aflatoxin was studied more. The conclusion of such works excludes Aflatoxin B1 as sole cause and claims that Aflatoxin B1 can only in context with hepatitis's B cause liver cancer.
However, it is a fact, that until today Aflatoxin has not caused a single fatality world-wide. It is to be noticed that there was not any uniform EC regulation until 1998! The now fixed tolerance border is 2 PPB which means: 2 PPB = 2 parts per billion; expressed in the normal standard, for example 2 PPB = 2 grams in 1.000.000 kilograms or 0,000002 grams in 1 kg.
This specified limite means that, if 0,000002 grams of Aflatoxin is determined in an examined test of 1000 grams, the whole lot is to be discarded.
The quantity of 0,000002 grams of Aflatoxin, that can be in one single nut can be easily included in one sample for testing, then suffices in order to judge the whole lot as inappropriate. In a very extreme case of for example 400 PPB, the determined absolute quantity of Aflatoxin is 0,0004 grams in 1000 grams of test.
IT IS A FACT, THAT THE ENTIRE QUANTITY OF THE GOODS IN ONE LOT IS NOT CONTAMINATED WITH SO-CALLED CONTAMINATED LOTS OF COURSE. According to European statistics of health authority on grounds of detailed examinations, afflicted nuts can occur in 5000 to 10.000 nuts with peanuts as well as pistachios. Therefore on average in 7500 nuts a bad nut. This points out the very low frequency of the danger of the consumption of a nut afflicted with Aflatoxin.
A load of 10 or 20 tons can be examined 5 or 10 times, without any problem. However, for the 11th test a nut afflicted with Aflatoxin can come by chance into the test sample, which would render the whole lot as unacceptable. In German, the expression therefore exists BAD LUCK SAMPLE. This bad luck sample can occur also with the first test of course.
The company IRECO always, despite the difference of the opinions of the scientists, has stuck to the current strictest rules in the EC, i.e. France, Germany and Netherlands, in order to correspond to the requests for deliveries to all countries of the EC. Other purchase from the European sellers always have been delivered at IRECO with a European certificate. The certificate exists according to the documents of each container for all containers. This procedure has been adopted since 1990, thus long before the EU regulation was formulated.
In conclusion, we would like to stress that dangers due to consumption of tobacco and alcohol threatens the consumer in Europe to a much higher risk. In order to express the different standards of the legislation and “Double Standards” of the responsible officials. so we read:
1 in 3 cancer cases are due to tobacco consumption.
20 percent of the death cases is because of tobacco consumption.
Alone in Luxembourg (400.000 total population), 500 people per year die because of tobacco smoking.
The question remains to be answered by the health specialists, why there is no restictive regulation on tobacco and alcohol as it is an aflatoxin? Why there is not any strict examination of much more important agricultural products for the European consumer such as wheat, flour, barley, mais which are consumed in enormous quantities and contain mycotoxins, according to the existing studies (Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, report No. 16, November 1989, USA). Consequently these products would represent a much high risk for the consumer according to EU point of view on Mycotoxins.
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