Poindexter Nut Grows, Orders Largest US Walnut Napasol Pasteurization Plant

Taylor Hillman Tree, nut & vine crops

seeds and nuts collection
Poindexter Nut Company orders the largest US walnut Napasol pasteurization plant to handle growing demand for naturally pasteurized safe walnuts.

The Poindexter Nut Company of Selma, CA was founded in 1969 and currently handles over 50 million pounds of walnuts annually. A major expansion of the facility, and investments in infrastructure, shelling, sorting, and packing equipment have been made in the last 3 years to meet growing demand. Naturally with this expansion comes the need for more pasteurization capacity. The high capacity Napasol pasteurization line ordered has a throughput of 13’000 pounds per hour and will be operational in March 2016.

The commitment to food safety and quality of the company included installing the first US Napasol unit for pasteurizing walnuts. It has given the Poindexter Nut Company a great advantage in the marketplace by providing customers peace of mind with the safest product possible. According to Mike Poindexter, CEO of the family enterprise, “Our Napasol unit has been working remarkably and between the increased shelf life, improved flavor profile, lower micro counts and proven safety aspects, the growth in demand for our brand has been incredible.”

Growth of tree nut consumption has been driven by consumer demand for healthy food, a widely advertised quality of nuts, particular walnuts with their high Omega 3 oil content. Recent product recalls on Walnuts and other tree nuts have increased the focus of customers on food safety and interest in pasteurization technologies, in particular those based on natural processes. Mike Poindexter adds, “After careful consideration of other options in the pasteurization business, we still find the Napasol system to be far and away the leader in performance and quality.”

The Poindexter Nut Company is located in Selma CA where it processes over 50 million pounds of walnuts yearly, exports to 45 countries, and has a staff of more than 400 employees seasonally. This major investment in pasteurization capacity will support the rapid growth of the company and its ability to supply large volumes of pasteurized product to its customers.
Napasol AG is a Swiss company which offers a range of equipment for pasteurizing nuts, seeds, herbs, spices and other low moisture foods. All Napasol installations are validated; using the latent heat of saturated steam effectively eliminates pathogens without altering the raw characteristic of the treated products.