FDA allows nut growers' health claim.

Byline: THE HEALTH FILES By Tim Christie The Register-Guard

Go ahead, go nuts - peanuts and tree nuts, that is: pecans, pistachios, walnuts, almonds, and of course, hazelnuts, also known around these parts as filberts.

Eat a handful a day, and you may lessen your risk of heart disease, scientific studies suggest.

Now nut marketers will be allowed to make that "qualified" health claim on the labels of their products under a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration program.

The policy permits food producers to put potential health benefits on their labels without conclusive scientific proof.

The labels will read, "Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces of most nuts, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease." That's roughly a third of a cup, or a handful of nuts.

It's the first time the FDA has allowed food producers to make such health claims.

Not everyone thinks it's a good idea, but the nut industry, which lobbied the FDA hard for the change, views the new labeling rule as a great opportunity to market their nuts to U.S. consumers.

Oregon hazelnut growers, who account for 99 percent of U.S. hazelnut production, see the new label as a way to expand their domestic market and compete with a much larger rival, the California almond industry. Most Oregon hazelnuts are exported.

"For such a long time people wrote off nuts because they're high in fat content," said Polly Owen, manager of the Hazelnut Marketing Board in Aurora. "Now we're seeing that fat content is positive."

The American Heart Association has long held that certain nuts contain mostly different types of fat that are heart-healthy - polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

Those unsaturated fats are known to lower "bad" LDL cholesterol levels in the blood and reduce the risk of heart disease.

But some nuts - macadamias and cashews - are so high in fat that the FDA wouldn't approve the qualified health claim. The FDA also allows the claim only on packaged nuts and not on fat-laden goodies such as ice cream with nuts.

The new FDA program ranks the scientific evidence behind health claims, from scientifically proven A ratings to D ratings that have almost no evidence. Nuts - which received a B rating, meaning promising, but not proven evidence - are the first to earn an FDA ranking, but other foods, such as salmon, are expected to follow.

The FDA review process will reward companies that make healthier products and help distinguish them from those who make false or misleading health claims, FDA Commissioner Dr. Mark McClellan said in news release.

Dr. Frank Hu, an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, urged the FDA to approve an unqualified health claim for tree nuts and peanuts based on "a considerable body of observational and experimental data."

In a letter to the FDA, he said that people who frequently eat nuts die from heart disease significantly less often than people who rarely eat nuts.

But a leading consumer watchdog group said allowing food producers to make claims based on inconclusive science is a bad idea.

"The FDA hasn't found the health claims to be conclusive. If the FDA can't stand behind the claims, why should they be allowed at all?" said Bruce Silverglade, director of legal affairs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

"We don't allow drug companies to sell drugs that might work, so why should we allow food producers to make health claims based on inconclusive scientific findings?"

The claim may confuse consumers trying to improve their diets and lose weight, he said.

Hazelnuts remain relatively obscure in the United States. They grow on about 28,000 acres in the Willamette Valley, yielding 20,000 to 45,000 tons a year and accounting for essentially all U.S. production. They're dwarfed by almonds, which have an annual harvest of about 700,000 tons.

But worldwide, almonds and hazelnuts vie for first place among consumers, with Turkey the 800-pound gorilla of the global hazelnut market. Oregon accounts for just 4 percent of the world market.

Growers such as Peter and Judy Gutoski, who have been growing hazelnuts on their Coburg farm since 1968, hope the new FDA ranking will spur consumer interest in hazelnuts.

"That's great for business," Peter Gutoski said.

He's already done the math: If someone were to eat an ounce and a half of hazelnuts every day, that's 35 pounds in a year.

A former carpenter, he switched over his other crops and became a full-time hazelnut grower in 1988. His 144 acres is the second largest filbert orchard in Lane County.

When the Gutoskis began growing them, hazelnuts were viewed as a seasonal treat to be eaten around Christmas, at least in the United States, Judy Gutoski said.

"People of the United States aren't that familiar with hazelnuts," she said.

As more people learn more about the health benefits of tree nuts, perhaps the U.S. market will grow, she said.

"Tree nuts are good," Judy Gutoski said.

"They're the best," Peter Gutoski said. "Hazelnuts are one of the best nuts to eat."

Then, quietly, he added, "Don't mention almonds."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tim Christie can be reached at 338-2572 or [e-mail].