Bulk pecans are among the most popular nuts in the supermarkets because of their delicious flavor, variety of culinary uses, and ease of storage. But like all store-bought foods, consumers and specialty food managers should be aware of steps in ensuring food safety when buying and storing pecans in bulk. To help ensure food safety, Stahmanns has become a Level 3 SQF Certified Pecan Grower.
Food Safety For Certified Bulk Pecans Starts With Harvesting
Excellent food safety starts with the harvesting process. Pecan nuts are harvested by vigorously shaking and gathering fallen nuts with the use of machines and processing the nuts by washing, light sanding, and polishing as well as drying.
Growers adopt several measures to minimize the risks of contamination.
These measures include:
• Processing the nuts as fast as possible, thus, ensuring that the bulk pecans sold have been in contact with potential pathogens in the least amount of time. Stahmanns uses a continuous harvesting system.
• Planting the trees further apart and keeping them pruned to let more sunlight in, thus, minimizing the damp environment on which bacteria grows
• Separation from the pecans and debris after collecting them from the trees.
• Lab testing with an outsourced provider, Silliker Labs, for Third Party Certification in SQF
Growers are also required to adopt stringent processing measures to ensure that, indeed, the pecans are safe for consumption.
Consumers should also be aware of the right steps when using pecans in bulk from the supermarket including:
• Wash your hands before and after shelling pecans as well as before eating the nutmeats. Doing so will lessen the risk for transferring bacteria, among other pathogens, from the outside of the shell to the inside of the nutmeats.
• Once the pecans are shelled, keep these in a sealed container for up to 6 months in the refrigerator or freeze them for up to a year.
Bulk pecans are great purchases but you should know how to ensure food safety when buying, using and storing these products.
CONTACT STAHMANNS PECANS FOR BULK PECANS WITH FREE SHIPPING
Stahmanns Pecans takes great pride in producing 8 to 9 million pounds of pecans a year for clients around the globe for over 70 years. We desire to serve the specialty food industries with bulk pecans. Contact us at pecans@Stahmanns.com, call 575-526-2453, ext. 108, or complete our simple online contact form more information about our specifications and production process.