PTNPA PresentsPTNPA Presents

Do You Know Where Your Cashews are Coming From?

An Encore Presentation

Tucson, Arizona 19982008

Cashew Industry Issues 1998Cashew Industry Issues 1998

Chemical Pesticide ResiduesPoor Packaging that lead to increased

infestationLead SolderForeign MaterialInfestation

Fast Forward 10 years…………….Fast Forward 10 years…………….

Cashew Industry Issues 2008Cashew Industry Issues 2008

Declining Issues– Chemical Pesticide Residues

– Lead Solder

Static Issues– Foreign Material

– Infestation

New Issues– Blocking

– Bio Security

– Country of Origin Concerns

External Factors That Have Had An Impact On External Factors That Have Had An Impact On the Food Importing Industrythe Food Importing Industry

September 11th, 2001 caused an increase in bio-security

China 2007

Pet Food Recall

Toothpaste Recall

Seafood RecallToy Recall

Consumer Confidence for Product Produced Consumer Confidence for Product Produced outside the United States Seriously Jeopardizedoutside the United States Seriously Jeopardized

Lower prices at the sacrifice of quality assurance and food safety have resulted in a higher ultimate cost.– Money spent as a result of lawsuits– Millions of dollars spent in product recalls (Peter

Pan, almond recall)– Expensive, unnecessary government imposed

solutions– Lost Reputations

All of this has created a complexity All of this has created a complexity in the food industry that has never in the food industry that has never been seen before.been seen before.

How do these issues affect the cashew How do these issues affect the cashew industry?industry?

The continued support of overseas suppliers who have compromised food safety standards and working conditions makes our industry vulnerable to government and consumer scrutiny.

Why do we need to be concerned about this?Why do we need to be concerned about this?

Improvements in communication Technology has made it easier to document consumer

complaints Consumer safety incidents that may have gone

unnoticed 10 years ago are easily made for public record today and can gain quick media attention.

Country of origin labeling fuels this by bringing awareness to the origin of the product.

Country of origin labeling next to the 800 number

ActionsActions

What are current consumer issues regarding cashews?– Foreign Material

– Hair

– Bugs

– Calls about origin

– Allergens

Producers’ StandpointProducers’ Standpoint

PesticideForeign Material Grading (grade conformance, particularly size)

ActionAction

Total cost of qualitySource communicationQuality confirmationKnow who are the premium producers…not the

dealer

Not All Cashew Facilities Are Created EqualNot All Cashew Facilities Are Created Equal

How are you going to get your quality confirmed?– Testing product upon arrival

– Knowing where the product comes from

– Confirmation of quality from origin that product is coming from facilities that maintain good manufacturing practices and can provide an assurance to consistently meet the quality standards.

What are we doing to improve standards?What are we doing to improve standards?

AFI is working for youAFI is working for you

afi.mytradeassociation.org

AFI Nut and Agricultural Products SectionAFI Nut and Agricultural Products SectionAnnual Report 2006Annual Report 2006

“…..we must embrace every segment of our industry to come together and address these issues.”

An appeal to the industry was made to update AFI Cashew Specifications

As a result, we came together to create new As a result, we came together to create new AFI specifications addressing issues such as:AFI specifications addressing issues such as:

– Blocking

– Grading

– Infestation

– Foreign Material

Proposed change to AFI SpecificationProposed change to AFI Specification

“Cashew kernels shall be free from hard or sharp foreign objects and hair.”

Current Specifications for Current Specifications for Insect Damage in Cashew KernelsInsect Damage in Cashew Kernels

• The AFI Specification currently does not prohibit live insects and does not limit the number of dead insects.

• FDA Specifically prohibits live insects and limits dead insects.

Proposed change to AFI SpecificationProposed change to AFI Specification

“Live insects are not permitted.”

Blocking of Cashews in Vacuum PackagingBlocking of Cashews in Vacuum Packaging

When the current AFI Specification was written, cashews were still packed in tins and blocking was rare.

The industry shifted to flexible type packaging and blocking became a serious problem.

The current AFI Specification does not define blocking and it does not prohibit strong blocking.

Proposed change to AFI SpecificationProposed change to AFI Specification

Definition: Cashews so strongly bonded together that they cannot be readily separated without destructive hammering, beating or mechanical manipulation.

Strong Blocking is not permitted

Vietnam grades: SW1 and LBWVietnam grades: SW1 and LBW

• The grades LBW and SW1 have been equated with W3 and DW.

• There is great inconsistency in the quality of LBW and SW1 between shippers and shipments.

Proposed change to AFI SpecificationProposed change to AFI Specification

AFI has proposed that the Vietnamese SW1’s will now be classified as BW’s, a counterpart to the DW, and described as “brown speckled.” Kernels with more than 25% of the surface area affected by brown speckling would be DW. Black speckling is not permitted.

LBW would be added to Third Quality and described as “light brown speckled.” Not more than 25% of the surface area would be affected by light brown speckling. Black speckling is not permitted.

House Leaders Propose to Place Significant House Leaders Propose to Place Significant New Burdens on the Food IndustryNew Burdens on the Food Industry

Limiting Ports of Entry New Regulatory BurdensQuarterly InspectionsMandatory Adoption of Process Controls

Can we work with Uncle Sam ?Can we work with Uncle Sam ?

GMA Food Safety Lobby Day GMA Food Safety Lobby Day

•G.K. Butterfield, 1st District, North Carolina•Mike Ross, 4th District, Arkansas•Bart Stupak, 1st District, Michigan•Tammy Baldwin, 2nd District, Wisconsin•Charlie Melancon, 3rd District, Louisiana•Michael N. Castle, Delaware

Grocery Manufacturers’ Association (GMA)Grocery Manufacturers’ Association (GMA)

Four Pillars of Imported Food Safety

Mandatory Foreign SupplierQuality

AssuranceProgram

VoluntaryQualifiedImporter

FoodSafety

Program

BuildThe

CapacityOf

ForeignGovernments

ExpandThe

CapacityOf

FDA

““The time to repair the roof is while The time to repair the roof is while the sun is shining.”the sun is shining.”

John F. KennedyJohn F. Kennedy