Extending the Shelf Life of In-Shell Walnuts

Carl Eidsath is the Technical Support Director for the California Walnut Board. He spoke to us about research regarding extending walnut shelf life.

“A researcher at Oregon State University is working on a coating that could be applied that would act as a sealant from oxygen and moisture getting into the kernel. So that's exciting,” said Eidsath

The coating would be generally recognized as safe (GRAS), which is a designation by the FDA that experts consider a chemical or substance added to food safe. And it's exempted from the usual Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act food additive tolerance requirements.

“BHT is, is really not so desirable now, the public opinion and all that. So these are going to be natural ingredients,” said Eidsath. “We've still got a year or two to really look at commercializing that, but the researcher has two coating systems that show a lot of promise. And you can't really see the coating on the kernel,” he noted.

Eidsath said that research would continue.

In more news…Domestic pistachio market movement has been good. When looking at the period from the new crop year that started on September 1st, 2019, which ended in June, shipments are pretty much on par with last year's record setting pace for the domestic market.