THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 9, 1995 TAG: 9504080273
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLES SEABROOK, ATLANTA JOURNAL AND CONSTITUTION
LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
Nuts to fat. That's what some Georgia farmers are saying this spring as they get ready to plant a new peanut variety that researchers say could revolutionize the ailing peanut industry.
The new peanut's developers at the University of Florida say it contains more of a healthier kind of oil and has a longer shelf life, which can save producers of peanut products millions of dollars.
Growers hope it can boost sagging demand for peanuts, Georgia's biggest cash crop. The state produces 30 percent to 40 percent of the nation's peanuts.
U.S. peanut consumption has dropped from 1.5 million tons in 1990 to a projected 1.3 million tons this year. Mitch Head, executive director of the Peanut Advisory Board, an Atlanta promotional group, said the decline is partly a result of a cutback in peanut butter purchases for government food programs.
Bob Fortmeier, a senior manager with Hunt Wesson, which makes Peter Pan peanut butter, said consumption has declined because of high prices, lifestyle changes, fat concerns and a lack of innovative products.
The new peanut is called SunOleic 95R. Dan Gorbet, the Florida developer of the legume, said farmers in Georgia, Florida and Alabama who plant it this spring will be growing it only for seed.
They should harvest about 5,000 acres of the new peanut this year, yielding about 10 million pounds. When that growth is multiplied next year, there should be enough to offer it commercially for the first time in 1997, Gorbet said.
All peanuts contain about 50 percent oil; peanuts derive 50 percent of their calories from fat.
But Gorbet said the new peanut contains about 80 percent oleic acid - a monounsaturated ``good'' fat, similar to olive oil. Normal peanuts contain about 50 percent of the monounsaturated oil.
Nutritionists believe the oil does not raise cholesterol as much as saturated fats and oils, and does not increase heart-disease risks.
Also, Gorbet said the new peanut has a shelf life of five to 10 times that of other varieties, meaning that product producers can save on the costs of recalling products that are out of date. by CNB