The salmonella-infected Hawaiian macadamia nuts scare has been occupying the news for some time now. According to John Cross, president of the Hawaii Macadamia Nut Association, the incident could adversely affect the annual 50 million pounds macadamia nuts produced from the island. These factors must be considered before forming any opinion on the safety of Hawaiian macadamia products:
1. The recalls involved only raw macadamia nuts, not roasted ones and to date, no illnesses have been reported in connection with this problem.
Before sweeping generalizations are made, it is important to note that only products identified as raw macadamia nuts are put in question. The majority of the products, which are roasted, are safe for consumption.
2. There were no salmonella traces detected in the random sampling of those recalled.
It should also be noted that those samples recalled recently do not contain any trace of salmonella, according to the article from Food Safety News. Of course, this does not mean that the recall is a waste of a perfectly good harvest, but should be viewed as a necessary step in ensuring the safety for consumers which must come first above all else. While it might still be too early to declare the crisis over, it should also highlight the safety of other macadamia products not covered in the recall order, specifically those which underwent salmonella-killing processes.
3. Salmonella can be killed quite easily.
It seems that the salmonella bacteria can be quite easily eliminated, with a lot of methods to kill the bacteria:
- Roasting - Whether done by oil or dry roasting, this method is a sure way to kill salmonella bacteria.
- PPO - or propylene oxide gas is another way to treat the nuts to prevent contamination.
- Steam - exposing the nuts to steam provides the necessary heat to kill potential salmonella bacteria present.
Cross notes that PPO might take care of the raw food supplier but not a raw organic supplier. Being a chemical treatment, PPO would not be used by organic farmers.
After considering all these factors, it can be seen that current efforts made to ensure consumer safety have effectively addressed the threat. In addition, the latest incident highlighted the need to fully comply with the requirement of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FMSA). As a result, macadamia nuts growers are now made fully aware of these requirements to limit Salmonella on their products, lessening the chances for another future incident.
