When someone says you’re nuts, they don’t usually mean it as a compliment, but we think that maybe you should start to.
Nuts are a powerhouse food source packed full of healthy fats, rich protein, and are a great source of vitamins such as vitamin E, vitamin B2, folate, fiber, and essential minerals, such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and selenium.
Some of the most popular and healthy nuts are almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts.
In short, nuts and seeds are one of the best, most convenient, and most nutritious snack foods you can consume today; and their popularity just keeps growing.
According to Jolyon Burnett, chair of the Australian Nut Industry Council,
The nut consumption boom is global in nature and is mainly driven by health-conscious consumers recognizing their health properties.
He goes on to say that,
Whether eating walnuts for “brain health”, almonds for “heart health” or the rich antioxidant and disease-prevention properties touted in hazelnuts, macadamias and so on, globally, there has been a reversal in thinking about the worth of this food group in Western diets. Ten years ago, doctors generally weren’t sold on their health properties, now the opposite is true.
Emily Parkinson, writing for The Australian Financial Review, adds some detail to Mr. Burnett’s statements, writing,
The global consumption of nuts has almost doubled in the past decade and many almond and macadamia growers are enjoying record production and near-record prices.
Market Growth
While the health benefits of nuts are one of the main reasons for their growing global popularity, the industry is also growing due to the fact that they are increasingly being incorporated as an ingredient into a wide variety of food and beverage products.
According to Transparency Market Research,
The demand within the global nuts and seeds market has been rising on account of the ever-expanding food and beverages industry. The use of nuts and seeds is not restricted to the food sector, and a variety of other products are also manufactured by blending seeds, nuts, and fruits. Hence, there is no contention about the fact that the global market for nuts and seeds will expand at a starry rate. Nuts are used across confectionery products to add taste and flavor to food items, and this factor has majorly propelled market demand.
Because of this, there is a high possibility of new and unexplored growth avenues emerging in the global market for nuts and seeds. The preparation of several cuisines including Indian, Thai, and Greek requires nuts and seeds in adequate amounts. Hence, the global market for nuts and seeds is expected to expand at a boisterous pace in the years to come.
The Magic of a Bridge MAP Oxygen Analyzer
It should be clear by now that nuts and seeds are gaining traction throughout the world as both a standalone food product as well as an ingredient in other products. Because of this, the importance of instituting proper quality control methodologies in nut packaging— such as modified atmosphere packaging— is becoming more important than it has ever been.
Modified atmosphere packaging is important for the preservation of nuts due to their high levels of unsaturated fatty acids. Because of this nuts are particularly susceptible to lipid oxidation, especially when exposed to high temperatures or a high-oxygen environment. Lipid oxidation can result in change of flavor, nutrient value and color, which is often also referred to as rancidity.
Elhadi M. Yahia, in his book Modified and controlled atmospheres for transportation, storage and packaging of horticultural commodities, reaffirms this assertion when he writes,
Because tree nuts are high in polyunsaturated lipids they are susceptible to oxidative rancidity. Therefore, storage under low O2 conditions may greatly slow the development of rancidity. As such, nitrogen flushed packaging is often suggested to improve the shelf life of tree nuts.
Our MAP Gas Analyzers, particularly our Model 900041 MAP Oxygen Analyzer, are designed to verify that your modified atmosphere packaging protocol is up to specification and you are preserving the freshness and flavor of your products, so that you can ensure that your customers are enjoying your product the way you intended.
Contact us to find out how we can help you.
We’d love to talk with you about how our series of MAP Gas Analyzers can help you strengthen your Quality Control protocols and continue delivering great products to your customers.