- The coveted Heart-Check certification may now appear on packages and promotional materials featuring roasted and salted pistachio kernels, roasted and unsalted pistachio kernels, roasted and salted pistachios in the shell and roasted, unsalted pistachios in the shell.
The American Heart Association’s Heart-Check mark will now appear on select pistachio nuts grown and marketed by members of the American Pistachio Growers (APG). This coveted certification may now appear on packages and promotional materials featuring roasted and salted pistachio kernels, roasted and unsalted pistachio kernels, roasted and salted pistachios in the shell and roasted, unsalted pistachios in the shell.
Since its creation in 1995, the Heart-Check Food Certification Program has helped consumers eat healthier and identify heart-healthy foods. Late last year this certification program expanded to include certain nuts, fish and other foods higher in the “better fats.”
(For more, see: Pistachio industry poised to sell record crops)
“We have always known that good things come in small packages when it comes to the nutritional benefits of pistachios,” says Judy Hirigoyen, APG’s director of global marketing. She continues, “A one-ounce serving of pistachios, that’s about 49 nuts, has no cholesterol and contains a host of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, in addition to seven grams of monounsaturated and four grams of polyunsaturated fats that are considered heart healthy in the context of a healthy dietary pattern.”
In recent years the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recognized that tree nuts, including pistachios, can be part of a heart-healthy diet.
The Heart-Check mark has become a nutritional icon and, according to the American Heart Association, has been shown to have the strongest aided brand awareness and trust among leading on-package nutrition icons.
Pistachios will now be listed among certified products at heartcheckmark.org. For more information about pistachios go to www.AmericanPistachios.org.
