Peanuts to China

Georgia peanut farm (WSJ photo)

Our fondness for peanuts ended abruptly when one of us developed a nut allergy. (The problem is severe enough to have required two emergency room visits in the past ten years.) At restaurants we're always inquiring about whether this salad or that dessert includes nuts.

The large chains are very informed about the problem, but we've found that small independent restaurants are sometimes not as careful. We have encountered "nut-free" dishes that were contaminated by utensils used throughout the kitchen. Another common error is overlooking the use of peanut oil in deep-frying, especially in Chinese restaurants. However, it was probably the consumption of roasted peanuts, including peanut butter, that led to the allergy.

Per the National Institutes of Health:

The methods of frying or boiling peanuts, as practiced in China, appear to reduce the allergenicity of peanuts compared with the method of dry roasting practiced widely in the United States. Roasting uses higher temperatures that apparently increase the allergenic property of peanut proteins and may help explain the difference in prevalence of peanut allergy observed in the 2 countries.

A record U.S. peanut crop has resulted in a steep price drop. Buyers from China are flocking to Georgia:

A stream of Chinese nationals began arriving in the peanut-farming region last winter, causing a frenzy in a $4 billion U.S. industry. With six-figure checks in hand, the Chinese are expected to scoop up 300,000 tons of peanuts this year—half of expected U.S. exports.

The influx of Chinese means Georgia's peanut-shelling companies have been on hiring sprees to staff up factories that are running 24 hours a day, some seven days a week, to keep up. There aren't enough trucks to ship all the peanuts to the port in Savannah, where containers sit full waiting for weeks to get onto vessels for Asia. U.S. exports are expected to double over last year.

China's appetite comes from a combination of cheap prices in the U.S. after a record crop last year—up 84% over 2011—and ravenous demand in China for peanut oil.

It's encouraging to read about an American commodity that the Chinese want to buy and all the jobs that are being created in Georgia. We'll visit China again soon to sample its sightseeing and culinary delights. We'll just have to remember to pack our EpiPen.