With over 300 days of sunshine, the perfect weather and rich soils of the Central Valley of California provide ideal conditions to grow premium walnuts. California Walnuts are generally lighter in colour with a mild taste and a soft creamy texture. California Walnuts undergo stringent handling processes, helping to set them apart from other origins. The California walnut industry has maintained an exceptional food safety record for a century.
Peter Meadows from The Garden Marketing & PR, the trade representative for California walnuts in the UK, stated, “Our main goal is to convey that California walnuts offer numerous advantages over other origins, such as great taste, consistency, outstanding food safety, suitability for snacking, high quality, and year-round availability. California walnuts are incredibly versatile and can enhance the taste and texture of a wide variety of snacks and recipes. We want wholesalers and retail buyers to understand the reasons for choosing California as their preferred origin.”
California is the world’s second largest producer of walnuts globally behind China and has enjoyed significant growth in recent years. The 2023 California walnut production was 760,000 tons, up 1% on 2022’s production of 752,000 tons. The forecast was based on 375,000 bearing acres, (The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service’s (NASS) October 2023).
In terms of health benefits, California Walnuts can add to a product’s nutritional profile. Proven research in the EU resulted in the claim that ‘a handful’ of walnuts a day (30g) can have a positive effect on the elasticity of the blood vessels and can thus help with keeping the cardiovascular system healthy (EFSA approved health claim / As part of a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle).
California walnuts are nutrient-dense and a source of vitamins and minerals. California walnuts are the only tree nut that offers an excellent source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the plant-based omega-3 essential fatty acid. As one of the best plant food sources of omega-3s, (a 30gram serving [a handful] of California Walnuts provides 2.7grams of ALA, 4grams of protein and 2grams of fibre).
California Walnuts UK have partnered with HEART UK, the cholesterol charity, to further underline California Walnuts’ contribution to heart health.
UK Marketing Support
“In partnership with The California Walnut Commission (CWC) we actively promote California walnuts and work with the major UK retailers to make California walnuts more visible to consumers. We provide marketing support via a range of initiatives, engaging in-store promotions, use of the California Walnuts origin logo on packaging, product launch support, and point of purchase activities,” says Meadows.
Recent highlights of these activities include promotions with Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Home Bargains Farmfoods, B&M, Holland & Barrett, and Costco, plus a range of supporting digital advertising and social media PR.
The world’s premium walnuts
The first English walnuts were introduced to California by Mission Fathers around 1770. It was Joseph Sexton, an orchardist and nurseryman who introduced the first commercial English walnut plantings near Goleta in Santa Barbara County in 1867. By the 1870s, modern walnut production had begun in Southern California near Santa Barbara. Over the next 70 years, much of the state’s walnut production was moved to the central and northern parts of California.
CWC, established in 1987, represents the California walnut industry, made up of over 4,600 growers and close to 70 handlers.
The CWC is also involved in scientific research examining the nutritional value of walnuts and exploring the role of walnuts in a healthy diet as well as export market development activities.
The sunny climate of the Central Valley of California is ideal for growing walnuts and is home to numerous walnut orchards – many of which have been family-owned for generations. Incidentally, California walnuts leads in world trade.
All California walnuts come from the Central Valley, the state’s primary growing region. The region’s mild climate and deep fertile soils provide ideal growing conditions for California walnuts. The California walnut trade continues to be a well-established, ordered, and structured business, making the California walnut the highest quality walnut available in the world.
100% of commercial walnut production in the United States comes from California.
Sustainability
The California Walnut Sustainable Programme focuses on integrated pest management, energy efficiency, water quality, air quality, nutrient efficiency, and food safety. Over the past two decades, the industry has shown reduction in pesticide use, improvements in energy efficiency in walnut drying, and improvement of surface water quality. This includes improved nutrient and irrigation efficiency and improved water quality. The CWC continue with ongoing research to identify and test potential ways the industry could further improve food safety which could contribute to best management practices for walnut growers.
The programme is economically viable for walnut growers, follows environmentally responsible practices and is socially acceptable by improving the quality of life for growers, neighbours and consumers. The California Walnut Commission is committed to investing in research that will help the industry continue to raise the bar for sustainability.
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