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Our growers are committed to
producing the highest quality, best tasting peanuts in the
world by striving to be innovative marketers and a flexible
and unifying force within the USA peanut industry. Consumers
throughout the world are concerned about consistently obtaining
flavorful, wholesome peanuts that are uniform in size and free
from foreign material and contamination. The USA peanut industry
continues to invest heavily in plant modernization and the
latest designs in automated cleaning, shelling, testing, and
sorting equipment to ensure that all buyers receive the best
possible product. U.S. government inspectors monitor processing
at each stage of the peanut’s journey from the farm to
the manufacturer or to the grocery shelf.
Peanut Standards Board
Research
Exports
Shelling & Grading
Manufacturing Practices
Peanut Growing States
State and Industry Groups
Peanut Standards Board
The 2002 Farm Bill established a Peanut Standards Board, which
is comprised of 18 members -- three producers and three industry
representatives from each of the three producing regions: Southeast
(Alabama, Georgia, and Florida); Southwest (Texas, Oklahoma,
and New Mexico); and Virginia-Carolina (North Carolina, South
Carolina, and Virginia), The Board advises the Secretary of
Agriculture regarding the establishment of quality and handling
standards for domestically produced and imported peanuts. One
of its many provisions requires that all peanuts marketed in
the United States be officially inspected and graded by federal
inspectors or federally licensed state inspectors. These
inspectors supervise, inspect and grade peanuts from delivery
at buying points to shipment from shelling plants.
Strictly enforced government regulations ensure that all USA-grown
peanuts are of consistently high quality. In addition, comprehensive
lot identification systems enable peanuts to be tracked throughout
the various stages of processing until final delivery to a
domestic processor or export customer. The U.S. peanut industry
is committed to providing the highest quality peanuts in the
world. Toward this end, there are testing procedures throughout
the shelling process. These tests enable producers to meet
the stringent specifications of their customers as well as
the U.S. government standards.
Research Improves Yield and Quality
Due to the emphasis on production of edible peanuts,
both the government and the industry allocate a considerable
amount of time and money to peanut research to produce a
high-quality food item. The focus of the research includes
seed breeding for higher yields, higher quality, lower levels
or no aflatoxin, better flavor and shelf life, more disease
resistance, and mitigation of allergenic reaction.
For listing and summary of NPB research projects, please click here.
Exports
The National Peanut Board’s funds are critical to the U.S. peanut industry’s export efforts. With support from check-off funds, sheller dues and other industry input, the American Peanut Council receives funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market Access and Promotion program, which is designed to promote American agricultural products overseas.
Approximately 20 percent of peanuts produced in the United States are sold overseas. In 2008 and 2009, the largest volume markets for exports were Canada (1), Mexico (2), the Netherlands (3) and Japan (4).
The industry works hard to deliver a “Quality USA” message to international consumers. Several NPB chairmen and board members have participated in international trade shows and served on trade teams during their tenure. Having these farmer experts on hand to answer questions and deliver the message of quality directly to buyers is a valuable asset.
Shelling & Grading
Once peanuts have been harvested and cured, they are called farmer stock peanuts (harvested peanuts that have not been shelled, cleaned or crushed) and are inspected and graded while still in the shell to establish their quality and value. Several samples from each peanut wagon from every farm must be taken and inspected before they can be sold. U.S. peanuts must be certified as safe for consumption. Peanuts certified as wholesome (more than 99% of the U.S. crop last year) are graded by size and type according to industry standards and then sold to product manufacturers.
The inspection and grading of peanuts by the Agricultural Marketing Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture occurs at buying stations or shelling plants. A random sampler withdraws a representative quantity of peanuts from a wagon, and from this sample the USDA inspector determines the value of the load of peanuts.
Once graded, peanuts move on to the shelling process where they are first cleaned, and stones, soil, bits of vine and other material are removed. The cleaned peanuts then move by conveyor belt to shelling machines in which the shells are removed from the peanut kernels. They then pass through updraft air columns that separate the kernels from the hulls. The kernels then pass over the various screens, where they are sorted by size into market grades.
The edible nuts are individually inspected with electronic eyes and video or laser sorters that eliminate discolored or defective kernels as well as any remaining foreign materials. Once the peanuts have been shelled they are packed into bags, boxes or railcars for delivery to product manufacturers.
Manufacturing Practices
The U.S peanut industry adheres to the highest levels of food safety practices. In the case of peanut butter, most manufacturers have adopted a food safety system that determines and eliminates food safety risks (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point). This ensures that when peanuts arrive in the processing plant, cross contamination is avoided by keeping the raw product completely separate from the cooked product. Additionally, raw peanuts are roasted prior to being processed into peanut butter. The roasting temperature is high enough to kill any salmonella bacteria.
The American Peanut Council has also adopted a Voluntary Code of Good Manufacturing Practices that includes recommended operating procedures for peanut processors. The recommended procedures include regular sampling, testing and verification of negative microbiological contamination in peanut manufacturing plants.
Peanut Growing States
State and Industry Groups
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