Updated August 2020

Our cashew nuts are a little different. The UK importer Get Loose buys cashews from has gone to great lengths to check the origins and working conditions of their cashew nuts. Fatima Imports obtains their cashews from one supplier in Goa, Zantye Cashew Nuts. Certainly experienced, Zantye have been exporting cashews for over 90 years!

An overview of these special cashews

certified organic by Control Union (India) and Indian Organic
grown in agroforestry systems (livestock graze around them)
sourced from 250 farmers paid 5% over the government controlled price
audited by SEDEX certification
the processing factory pays above the minimum wage for the area
protective equipment is provided to factory staff who need it
the cashews are safely steamed, and roasted, to destroy the toxins in the shells and make the shelling process easier.
factory staff are able to work flexible hours, allowing more women to work
The nuts are shipped around the world by boat
Zantye Brothers Educational Fountain have funded a higher education college affiliated to the University of Goa
The Hirabai Zantye Eye hospital provides eye care to the rural areas where the nuts are grown and factory workers live
establishing a local co-operative bank to offer financial solutions to individuals and small to medium business enterprises. Bicholim Urban Co-Operative Bank

Safely steaming the cashew nuts to remove toxins from the shells

Roasting the cashews to allow easier shelling

*Zantye workers shelling cashews with protective equipment*

Price differences

Per kilo cashews vary wildly in UK shops (prices correct August 2020)

Waitrose Duchy Organic £26.67 per kg (150g pack)
Tesco Organic £20.00 per kg (150g pack)
Sainsbury's Organic £20.00 per kg (200g pack)
Get Loose Foods (Organic) whole cashews £18.50 per kg
Get Loose Foods (Organic) broken cashews £15.75 per kg
Sainsburys (NOT Organic) broken cashews £15.00 per kg (200g pack)
Waitrose (NOT organic) £15.00 per kg (400g pack)
Tesco (NOT Organic) £12.50 per kg (200g pack)

What are cashew nuts & how do they grow?

They are actually a seed from the cashew tree. At the same time the tree also produces the cashew apple.

Cashew trees originate from Brazil and were one of the first fruit trees to be transported around the tropics by the Portuguese and Spanish. Today India and Vietnam are the world’s largest producers, and distributors, of cashew nuts.

The trees are evergreen and can grow up to 14m high. The flowers can be up to 26cm long, starting green and turning reddish.

The cashew apple forms from the flower and at the end of this forms the kidney shaped cashew seed (commonly called a nut). It is surrounded by a double shell that contains an allergic phenolic resin, and anacardic acid a potent skin irritant similar to poison ivy. More on this later. People can be allergic to cashew nuts but this is less common than actual tree nuts.

Nutritional content & health benefits

A 30g serving of plain cashew nuts contains 7g carbs, 5g protein and 14g fat, adding up to 175 cals.

They also contain a number of vitamins and minerals, including; copper, manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, thiamin, B6, Vitamin K, iron, potassium, zinc & selenium.

Due to the range of vitamins and minerals contained within the cashew nut they have been touted as the answer to many health conditions from gallstones to cancer! However no one food can lay claim too curing a specific disease. As part of eating a balanced range of foods cashews can provide a number of beneficial nutrients that are conducive to a healthy body.

Blood Cashew issue

I was surprised to discover when researching this article that cashews are not as innocent as one might think. As with many commodity high value crops the truth of their journey to the UK shops is not always one the shops that sell them would want us to know.

A report by Human Rights Watch in 2011 exposed that in Vietnam 40,000 citizens detained in drug treatment programmes were mostly processing cashew nuts. They have to do this for hours at a time without protective equipment, no pay and the threat of physical punishment. It is expected they will shell 5-8kg of cashews per day that's husking around 4,800 nuts!!! There is no actual rehabilitation treatment going on these centres.

It doesn't help that although they sell for a similar price to almonds, they are a lot more labour intensive to produce. Machines are not able to do the job as well as a human, they break more nuts and broken nuts are less valuable.

In 2013 the Guardian reported in India around 1.2 million people work in the industry making it very economically important. The roasting process produces carbon dioxide and monoxide. Those who work around the roasting process complain of breathing problems, tight lungs, and chronic coughing. The nuts are shelled at home, or in factories, where protective equipment is not always available, or has a cost which not everyone can afford. Payment is by weight not by the hour, leading to long working days, ill health and low pay.

We are very grateful to Fatima Imports and Zantye for ensuring that we can enjoy an ethical cashew!

Researched and written by Justine Rose, Assistant Manager at Get Loose. This article has also been adapted for her blog www.littlegreenduckie.com