Emerging Markets for Tree Nut and Peanut Oils in the 21st Century
Ronald B. Pegg,1 Yi Gong1 and Ryszard Amarowicz2, 1Department of Food Science & Technology, The University of Georgia, 100 Cedar Street, Athens, GA, 30602-2610, USA; 2Division of Food Science, Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Tuwima 10, 10-748 Olsztyn, Poland

The approval a decade ago of a U.S. Food & Drug Administration qualified health claim for tree nuts/peanuts and cardiovascular disease, which reads, “Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces (42 g) per day of most nuts, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease” has led to an increase in nut sales and value-added products derived therefrom. Lipids comprise 50%+ of tree nuts and peanuts. An expanding market for specialty nut and peanut oils with purported health benefits has resulted, with comparisons often being made to that of olive oil. This changing market demographic offers advantages to certain regions of the world where specific nut types are grown in abundance; for instance, hazelnuts in Turkey, pecans in the USA (Georgia), walnuts in China and the USA (California), pistachios in Iran, and almonds in the USA (California). Certain tree nut oils remain unrefined, as they are cold- or expeller-pressed thereby conferring greater levels of minor bioactive constituents such as tocopherols/tocotrienols, phytosterols, and squalene. Others (i.e., those richer in PUFAs) and peanut oil undergo some degree of refining and possibly antioxidant fortification to counterbalance their lesser oxidative stability. Fatty acid composition and the content of lipophilic bioactives like tocopherols (vitamin E) markedly impact each oil’s oxidation status. To illustrate, with increasing acres of high oleic and low linoleic peanuts being planted, the lipid constituents of the oil after crushing, extraction, and refining are changing. This presentation will report on the fatty acid composition and levels of selected lipophilic bioactives of present-day specialty nut oils in the market which are replacing some traditional oilseed sources, and how these oils are impacting the health and wellness sector.