The last thing anyone wants is some sort of mad pistachio disease scare.
There is no such thing on the horizon, but California pistachio growers, who now are No. 2 in world production of the ancient nuts, want to be sure. So they have asked federal regulators to step up oversight of their crop to limit defects, guarantee a generously sized nut, institute crop inspections and, most of all, lower the threshold for a naturally occurring mold called aflatoxin that is carcinogenic.
With the European aflatoxin ban that wreaked havoc on the world pistachio nut market in 1996 still fresh in their minds, growers banded together and asked the Department of Agriculture in 2002 to organize a referendum to approve stricter regulation of the nuts. Some 647 growers and 19 handlers in California are voting on the proposal, which would result in what is known as a federal marketing order for the nuts.
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The new rules become effective if two-thirds of the producers voting, or those representing two-thirds of the production, approve. Then, an 11-member administrative committee is appointed by USDA, and assessments would be set on handlers to pay for the new program.
The proposed Agricultural Marketing Service rule provides background information about the growth of the pistachio industry in California, where 98 percent of the U.S. crop is grown. It also sets out the growers' recognition that consumer demand depends on a quality product that is free from defects and has no taint of aflatoxin.
Pistachios and other nuts can contain fungi called aflatoxins, which can cause cancer and liver damage, though few cases have been reported in developed countries. In 1996, European countries slapped a 90-day ban on nuts from Iran, the world's leading producer, saying they violated their exposure threshold. That dampened the European appetite for pistachios and depressed the world market, and continues to have repercussions.
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The domestic industry asked federal regulators to reduce the permissible level of aflatoxin in the United States, now set at 20 parts per billion, to 15 parts per billion.
"Growers have a risk without a marketing order that there could be a health scare in pistachios that could cost them a lot of money. If this decreases the risk, there will be economic benefit to growers," said William Phillimore, executive vice president of Paramount Farming Co. in Bakersfield, Calif., a pistachio grower.
"The industry is trying to get to zero. We have all seen what happens on food safety issues. We don't want it," said James Zion, managing director for Meridian Nut Growers Alliance, a marketing company for growers and processors.
The proposed rule would cost about $490,000 annually, but increasing demand and avoiding the chance of an aflatoxin "event" would yield $1.4 million in yearly benefits, according to an analysis done for the industry.
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Pistachios were gathered as far back as 20,000 B.C. and were the snack of choice of the queen of Sheba, legend has it. The American industry has grown rapidly since the first orchards in California produced 1.5 million pounds of nuts in 1976. The industry produced 302.4 million pounds of nuts in 2002, more than double production in 1995, netting growers about $245 million for their crop.
"We have come on pretty strong," said Karen Reinecke, president of the California Pistachio Commission in Fresno. She said that in the 1980s, consumers ate an average of a quarter-cup of the nuts a year; now, with the average retail price down to $2.99 to $3.99 a pound, it's more like a quarter-pound per person.
She said, "People who eat pistachios eat far more than that." The nuts used to be regarded as something of a delicacy, at about $10 a pound. Now they are sold at places like Costco and Wal-Mart.
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One reason for increased sales is that pistachios, like other nuts, have soared to the top of the list of heart-healthy foods. In July 2003, the Food and Drug Administration approved a "qualified health claim" that eating 1.5 ounces of nuts, such as pistachios, each day may help reduce the risk of heart disease.
Fancy ads now appear in health and home magazines saying the green meat is good for you. A bonus is that 49 nuts contain only 160 calories. The attributes of the nut were sampled throughout California last week at the statewide Pistachio Day. In Visalia, for example, research and cookies with pistachios were served up.
The regulations also are part of an ongoing attempt to distinguish the California pistachio from its Iranian rival in export markets and to ensure American consumers view the nuts as safe.
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Over the years, California growers have won trade cases that alleged the Iranian government was subsidizing its pistachio industry and dumping shipments in the United States at below-market prices. In the 1980s, domestic growers complained and won stiff tariff restrictions. In fact, since 1986, those tariffs have kept all but a few Iranian pistachios out of the American market.
Mehrdad Valibeigi, an international economic consultant who is trying to get the tariffs removed for a trading company he represents in Iran, said American consumers have been shortchanged: "[The Iranian nut] is really much better than the California pistachio," he said.
