Increasing The Shelf Life in Walnuts
Increasing the shelf life and walnuts.
Abhi Kulkarni is Assistant Technical Director for the California Walnut board and Commission. Could an edible coating help increase the shelf life of walnuts?
“Traditionally we have faced some challenges in terms of shelf-life vis-a-vis other products. So one of the things we're looking at is how can we extend shelf life through any edible coating of walnuts or through different technologies that can squeeze more shelf-life for the open market or industrial products,” said Kulkarni
Kulkarni said they're getting some preliminary results, which look very promising.
“Especially the research we're doing with Oregon State on the edible coating of walnuts. It does show some initial promise, but we'll see how it goes,” he noted.
We also ask Kulkarni about the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) with inspectors coming to large farms for inspection. “Starting in 2020 someone on each farm must be trained to meet the Food Safety Modernization Act standards,” he said.
“It's not that complicated. Basically what you need to do is each farm is required to have one person attend the FSMA training, which is a one day about eight hour training, and it's the one time, so you don't have to take it every year,” he said.
“We offered complimentary training for walnut growers for the past three years, and that program has lapse. However, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is offering a low cost training program, which is about $35 and growers can find information on their website to where they can sign up at their nearest training programs, Kulkarni explained.
Search for CDFA Produce Safety Program.
