Read the
magazine
story to find out more.
|
![Healthy peanut plants with roots exposed. Link to photo information](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20080925180949im_/http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/oct03/k7798-6i.jpg)
Healthy peanut plants with roots exposed. Click
the image for more information about it.
|
U.S. Peanuts Pass the Flavor Test In Europe
By Rosalie Marion
Bliss
August 10, 2005 European peanut consumers gave two
thumbs up to U.S. peanuts after evaluating peanuts from the United States,
China and Argentina. The results of the consumer study coordinated by the
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) show
that although U.S. peanuts come at a premium price, they also come as a premium
product.
Timothy H.
Sanders, research leader of the ARS
Market
Quality and Handling Research Unit in Raleigh, N.C., coordinated the
project, which is called the European Peanut Consumer Research Study.
About 4.1 billion pounds of peanuts were produced by U.S. peanut growers
during the 2003-2004 marketing year. Of that, just over one-tenth--516 million
pounds--was exported.
The U.S. peanut industry will use the findings to maintain current purchase
levels by overseas buyers. And U.S. peanut exporters will use the findings for
outreach in foreign markets.
Europe is the United States' largest export market. The European flavor test
was conducted with 100 peanut consumers--screened for being "regular"
buyers of peanuts or peanut products--each from London, Berlin and Amsterdam.
The combined study data show that the likelihood of consumer complaints
about the flavor of U.S. peanuts would be virtually none. The data also
indicate that European consumers would likely identify about 70 percent of
Chinese lots and 40 percent of Argentine lots as problematic.
Read
more about the research in the August 2005 issue of Agricultural
Research magazine.
ARS is the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.