brazil nuts in shells

[glenis]

i read recently that you can't buy brazils in shells this christmas,shelled brazils are ok but not with their shells on,even mixed bags of nuts do not contain any brazils,i remember that it was something to do with eu regulations ,but can't recall the reason why ,can anyone enlighten me?

[brachiopod]

It's something to do with a remote possibility that there are traces of a natural toxin on the shells.

Shame - I love brazil nuts.

Here's a recent link from the BBC News site...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4065611.stm

[glenis]

thank you brachiopod

[brachiopod]

No problem !

( as brachiopod peruses bowl of Christmas nuts with no brazils and too high a proportion of boring hazelnuts..... )

[woofgang]

actually aflatoxin is quite a nasty thing and can kill people...so you can still have them shelled but not with shells. A few years ago there was the same problem with the peanuts that people feed to birds and now they are certified aflatoxin free, if not, don't buy

[brachiopod]

I didn't say aflatoxin isn't a nasty thing and can't kill people, woofgang.

I realise you can get shelled brazils, but where's the skill in that compared with that of gently crushing that angular shell; easing the whole nut out of that piece of corner; of removing that piece of the slightly woody layer that seems to be glued to the surface of the nut; caressing the magnificent whole specimen; the smell of greasepaint; the sound of leather on willow; the skill of the hunter; the mist on the water......

...sorry, seem to have got a bit carried away.

[glenis]

brachiopod-down boy they are only nuts!! (if you are a girl i apologize)

[brachiopod]

That's what my mother said, glenis !!

-

Oo-errr, Matron... etc.

[woofgang]

didn't intend to patronise, but on re reading it came out that way. Please accept my apologies in the spirit of the season???

[brachiopod]

No worries, woofers.

Care to join me in a glass of cyber-sherry, a mince pie, and, of course, a few brazil nuts in their virtual shells?

[FTVS]

Ha! have only just relaised that there indeed aren't any Brazil Nuts in teh selection! i thought it looked weird. Brachi, I am so with you, de-casing a Brazil Nut is a highly skilled operation. Incidentally, how areyou with Almonds?

[saffstar]

STOP PRESS!!!! My Mum bought some brazils - in their deadly shells - from Tesco yesterday.  Don't know whether they've slipped through the net or if there's been a rethink in regulations.

[Pinotage]

As I recall, the regulations do not forbid the sale of Brazils in their shells, they say the shells must be tested first to ensure they are toxin free.

 

Newspapers - who like to big up bad news - extrapolated that no-one would pay the extra cost of testing and(doom & gloom) this meant there would be no brazil nuts in shells and we could all blame the nasty EU. (They could have written it up as good news - the EU were ensuring our safety by making sure shells were safe, but for some strange reason, did not)

 

Anyway, Waitrose have got piles of self serve brazil nuts in their shells. Brazil nuts are good to buy - they provide elements vital for (ahem) 'male health', and they encourage keeping the rain forest as these nuts cannot be cultivated - they all come from wild trees. 

[saffstar]

..and they taste nice too!

[lyall]

Whats the problem with the remotest possibility of toxins being in the shells? we dont eat the shells we eat the nuts! they taste so much better in the shells.

[TheYardie]

More silly rules from the EU.

Another good reason for leaving the Common Market (sorry EU).