Wild Oats - Almonds

[KellyL]

For those of you who shop at Wild Oats, do you know whether their organic almonds are pasteurized yet? I figured that since the law doesn't go into effect until September, I didn't have to worry. I was looking at some of the threads on the board though and they warned that some places have already put it into practice. Thanks for the help! :)

I just sent an e-mail requesting info. but it would be great if someone here on the forum already had the answer.

[queenfluff]

For those of you who shop at Wild Oats, do you know whether their organic almonds are pasteurized yet? I figured that since the law doesn't go into effect until September, I didn't have to worry. I was looking at some of the threads on the board though and they warned that some places have already put it into practice. Thanks for the help! :)

I just sent an e-mail requesting info. but it would be great if someone here on the forum already had the answer.

Hi KellyL,

The law will start being enforced Sept 1 yes, but lots of places are already doing it ( I guess to be ready for Sept 1) - the only way to know is to ask someone who works at Wild Oats. I know Whole Foods already has signs up about not having raw almonds anymore (i think that was what the sign said -can't remember now - I don't normally shop there ) or that they won't be actually raw anymore? (the california ones)

It may be that the ones they have there right now are an old crop and not pasteurized yet but many farms are already pasteurizing nuts that will be going to market soon.

But after Sept 1 - you can bet that if you see Almonds that say raw (organic or not) they will most definately be pasteurized. They are unfortunately NOT being strict with the labeling - to most places if they are not roasted or toasted than they are raw - they don't care about the specifics of pasteurized not making the nuts really raw.

[KellyL]

I called the Wild Oats corporate office a few minutes ago and it was a bit disturbing. They had never heard of the law that passed for pasteurization. The girl said that it didn't make sense since it is usually liquids that are pasteurized, not solids. She then went on to tell me (in a tone that suggested I was off my rocker) that pasteurization would toast the almond. I explained the new law and she assured me that as of right now, their almonds are not pasteurized. I am not sure that I trust her though since she knew absolutely nothing about it. I guess I will wait for an e-mail response. Hopefully, it will be more informative and put my mind at ease.

[queenfluff]

I called the Wild Oats corporate office a few minutes ago and it was a bit disturbing. They had never heard of the law that passed for pasteurization. The girl said that it didn't make sense since it is usually liquids that are pasteurized, not solids. She then went on to tell me (in a tone that suggested I was off my rocker) that pasteurization would toast the almond. I explained the new law and she assured me that as of right now, their almonds are not pasteurized. I am not sure that I trust her though since she knew absolutely nothing about it. I guess I will wait for an e-mail response. Hopefully, it will be more informative and put my mind at ease.

Hmm, that is really weird. Even my local co-op knows about it - and they are a ton smaller than Wild Oats. My guess is that you just didn't get to talk to the right person maybe? If there is a specific person that is in charge of the bulk section (maybe try to find them when you go to the store) - they should certainity know about it. It might be better to talk to someone who actually works with the products at the store - they would be on the receiving end of the boxes from the suppliers etc.

Or maybe she did know and she just told you that because she knew you wouldn't buy almonds if you knew they were pasteurized? :)

[beppa66]

Ok, silly question. So where CAN we buy raw almonds now?

[bodaflower]

Probably NFL..just search around the web, I've never bought them online :)

[queenfluff]

Ok, silly question. So where CAN we buy raw almonds now?

Nope not a silly question! :) The whole thing is super confusing I know and the law in general is completely dumb but we will have to adjust to it I guess. :) ...until we can get an exception to the ruling (there are people pushing for this!)

After Sept 1 you can try the raw sites but it might be hard - we will just have to see what happens after Sept 1. If you buy from the raw site - the almonds will probably ones grown overseas - they won't be from California. I know my local co-op sells raw organic almonds that are grown in Europe - they are super expensive though but any ones grown in California (which is where pretty much 100% of our raw almonds come from) will be pasteurized.

Almonds in general (from anywhere raw or unraw - pasteurized or unpasteurized) will be expensive from now on because of this law. (plus I heard the almond crop didn't do so well this year - I think because of the honeybee problems)

The only other way to purchase raw non-pasteurized California grown almonds will be to buy them hand-to-hand from the growers themselves. You would have to get yourself to California to do it. They are only allowed to sell a certain amount too (don't know how much it is). It will illegal for them to ship unpasteurized almonds around the US. (this includes selling them through online merchants or Ebay). It has to be hand-to-hand transaction to get them unpasteurized.

It might take a while for any small sellers to be regulated though - so you might be able to easily still get them after Sept 1 until they start really enforcing the new law.