Yesterday, a day before Earth Day celebrations, Mount Olive, N.J.-based Mars Chocolate reported that 51 percent of all peanuts used for the company’s products in the United States were high-oleic acid peanuts (HOAPs), a move designed to ensure the sustainability of edible peanuts.
The company has committed to using 100 percent HOAPs in its products by 2017, working with peanut farmers, shellers and the industry as a whole to support the production of a sustainable supply of quality HOAPs. Those efforts involve investing in science, creating more advanced breeding approaches, mitigating disease and encouraging greater agricultural efficiencies. The peanut industry faces a challenge today to make sure that it is growing enough high quality, edible peanuts to meet growing demand.