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Statement on Salmonella and Food Safety
5/24/04 Ewing Appointed
Head of
Sales 3/29/04 Billion
Pound Crop Estimate 7/1/03
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2004 OBJECTIVE CROP ESTIMATE The objective estimate of the 2004 California almond crop was announced today by the Almond Board of California as 1.08 billion lbs. on 550,000 bearing acres. This estimate is about 1.8% below the subjective estimate released May 10. When accounting for the usual estimate of 4% loss & exempt (due to insect damage, blanching loss, and processing loss), the marketable new crop will be around 1.037 billion lbs. With expected shipments over 1 billion both this season and next, we think this is a good number for the industry and about what was expected from the trade. Spain’s crop is still expected to be a disaster, off at least 30 million lbs. from last year. Thus, world production will be essentially unchanged from the 03-04 crop year. In the short-term we do not expect too much of a change in market prices, but probably a little more activity. Since our last report the market has been very quiet as expected. New crop prices for California and other varieties except the Nonpareil have been trading below current prices. The Nonpareil prices have remained fairly steady for new crop and very strong for what remains of current crop. For the CASS report, click here.
FOOD SAFETY UPDATE Since the recent recalls were announced, the Almond Board of California has been working closely with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to address food safety concerns and work out a solution to eliminate consumer exposure to microbial contamination in raw almonds. They’re setting up a plan to transition the industry during the coming crop year. By the 2005 crop year we expect that all handlers will required to subject raw almonds to a lethal process that achieves a 5-log reduction. We are performing Salmonella testing of samples from all shipments leaving Hilltop Ranch. On our certificates of analysis we have added new information demonstrating the results of our testing, stating “salmonella: negative.” Through meetings with the Almond Board and government officials we have come to realize that testing for salmonella does not assure that the product is salmonella-free. This would require testing 100% of the individual almond kernels, which would leave us without any product to ship. It’s now widely accepted that a lethal process is needed. At Hilltop Ranch we are now in a re-design phase to achieve this 5-log reduction with our pasteurizer. Microbiologist, Charlie Jahn, recently joined Hilltop Ranch as Quality Assurance Manager. He has been working with independent consultants, the National Food Lab, and government authorities to improve our pasteurization process and achieve validation. Domestic consumption doesn’t appear to have been significantly harmed by the recent recalls. It’s estimated that just over 1% of consumers may lower or stop their purchases of almonds due to recent negative press. We are interested to receive your feedback and address any of your concerns regarding the changes being made in the industry’s approach to quality assurance. Best Regards, Director of Sales Hilltop Ranch, Inc. For more information, contact Paul Ewing directly. Previous Market Reports: ©2004 Hilltop Ranch, Inc. |
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