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How we check every lot of raw cashew nuts
Before a bag leaves for a processor, we know its moisture, nut count and outturn. Here is how we test a lot.
Our cashew buyers are processors. They shell, peel and grade the kernels themselves, so what they need from us is a raw nut they can count on: dry, sound, and with a good yield of kernel inside the shell.
Three numbers for every lot
- Moisture. Nuts are sun-dried to 10% moisture or less. Wetter nuts spoil in the bag and lose weight on the voyage.
- Nut count. How many nuts make up a kilogram. Fewer, larger nuts usually mean bigger kernels.
- Outturn. How many pounds of good kernel a buyer can expect from an 80 kg bag of raw nuts. It is the figure processors watch most closely.
The cutting test
To measure outturn, our quality team draws a sample from across the lot and cuts the nuts open one by one. Sound kernels are weighed; spotted, shrivelled or immature ones are counted and set aside. The result goes on the lot’s quality sheet.
“The cutting test takes an afternoon. It saves our buyers from surprises when the container arrives.” — Halima Chande, quality officer
Every lot we offer comes with its moisture, nut count and outturn, and we send samples on request before a buyer commits.
