The American Peanut Council (APC) undertakes its international market development programme in cooperation with the US Department of agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS). APC does not buy, sell or process peanuts. It’s resources are devoted exclusively to the market development and dissemination of trade information on behalf of the US peanut industry.

Manufacturers and retailers using and promoting products containing 100% US peanuts are invited to apply to the American Peanut Council for marketing support, which includes the licence for use on pack of the Quality American Peanut logo - a guarantee of 100% quality American peanuts. The APC undertakes a variety of generic campaigns

Great tasting American peanuts now even better!

The American Peanut Council has commissioned research to explore teenage school snacking behaviour and attitudes to healthy peanut snacks as one way to support the peanut industry in the development of unsalted peanut products to meet the growing demand for healthy nutritious snacks, specifically for school- aged children. Implementation of the UK Governments new School Food Standards, designed to radically change the foods on offer in schools in an attempt to improve children’s eating habits mean that from September 2007, the only savoury snacks that will be allowed in schools will be nuts, seeds and dried fruit.

When discussing the new government policy restricting the types of snacks sold in schools, the APC researchers asked pupils if they would buy snacks like dried fruit, unsalted nuts and seeds, if they were the only snacks on sale in school. 66% of the 2000 pupils in the study initially said they would not. However, following tasting sessions with new American flavoured peanuts, dried fruit and mixes, there was a dramatic shift in views with 95% of pupils confirming that they would buy these snacks at school and 84% saying they would also recommend these snacks to their friends. Interestingly, none of the students mentioned the absence of salt in these new innovative peanut products.

These positive results illustrate that producing nutritious, natural snacks based on high quality ingredients, such as American peanuts, can meet the new school snacking standards. That’s because these innovative American peanut snacks deliver on taste as well as health - a necessity for persuading teens to change their snacking habits and for schools to stock these products.

The APC results suggest that currently some 22% of teens are snacking on nuts and 24% on dried fruit at least once a week, compared to 64% for crisps, 70% for chocolate and 53% for cereal bars. With the implementation of the Governments new standards for school-based snacking, from September 2007 these figures are likely to dramatically change, provided tasty alternatives, such as these American peanut products, are made available for schools.

Encouraged by the enthusiastic responses of our trend-setting teens and recognising too that consumers are now looking for low salt snacks, the new ranges of unsalted varieties of American peanuts are being launched by two innovative UK peanut manufacturers. The new varieties will include both flavoured American peanuts and dried fruit and peanut mixes, all in handy pack sizes, ideal for healthy snacking on the go.

Grown in the USA

Product origin is of increasing concern for consumers. Buying American peanuts gives the reassurance that you are buying a premium quality snack that has been grown, harvested, processed and transported under the best conditions. Using the ‘Quality USA’ logo on pack guarantees premium quality, great tasting American peanuts and the excellent food safety record of the US industry.