National Peanut Board Chair discusses peanut products found this spring at food shows.
After attending the Fancy Food Show and Natural Products Show, National Peanut Board Chairman Les Crall is even more convinced that peanut possibilities are endless.
“It was amazing how many uses they have for peanuts,” said Crall who is also chairman of the Oklahoma Peanut Commission. Product distributors from the East Coast to the West Coast and from other countries including Israel and Brazil, marketed peanut products, along with other foods from all over the world.
“My wife (Laurie) and I were specifically looking for products that had peanuts in them,” Crall said. “The National Peanut Board also has a booth. We have companies just starting out and promoting peanuts, so we make booth space available for them to promote their products.”
Crall shared several of the show items he had gathered with producers at the recent 2022 Oklahoma Peanut Expo. They included peanut puffs for infants and flavored peanuts such as dill, garlic parmesan, and sea salt and vinegar.
Crall, who also produces peanuts, said there are food trends that as a farmer he’s not aware of. “As farmers, we know many people are removed from their food, they don’t know how their food is grown and raised. But there are so many people that have come up with such wonderful ways to use our food. The Millennial generation [born between 1981-1996] and the Gen Z [born between 1997-2012], are all about food, healthy food and eating habits, and that’s what some of this is geared towards.”
Watch the following video to hear Crall’s interview and to learn more about some of the peanut products he brought home.
