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CASHEW NUTS

Rich Source of Healthy Fats

Natural, tasty, and healthy


Our aromatic cashews are perfect as a snack in between meals or for use in various dishes. With their mild, nutty flavor, which resembles that of a whole cashew nut, our cashews provide a distinctive experience. The cashew kernels are harvested for you in Indonesia and are a pure natural product—unsulfured, unroasted, and free from preservatives.

Transparent Pricing


It is important to us that all parties involved in the process benefit, that everyone is fairly compensated, and that you, as a customer, do not pay excessively. Only in this way can a high-quality and fair product be created. Here, we explain openly and transparently how the prices of our products are made up.

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Why not Organic?

Bureaucracy

The methods for organic certification are often difficult for consumers to understand. Particularly with concepts like the transparent supply chain, which works well in Europe, the situation is quite different in countries like Africa and Asia. In Indonesia, typically only large cashew producers (processors) are certified thanks to their brighter network to the government, high quantity and margin. But this is different for other farmers providing less quantities, they are alone with less support from the government. The bureaucracy is not comparable to that in Europe, and different verification methods are applied. 


COST

Consumers often pay significantly more for products with a Bio seal compared to conventional alternatives. This is understandable, as it relates to higher quality, reduced pesticide use, stricter controls, and environmental protection. However, the premium price for Bio cashews does not reach us as  producers or other small cashew cooperatives and farmers in Indonesia in equal measure. 



Small Farmers Cannot Afford Organic Certification


It is already challenging to obtain organic certification for Europe, and the annual costs involved are significant. Our small Family Farm "Aurelia Da'Gabo" in Indonesia certainly do not have the financial resources for this. Moreover, we have cultivated our lands for generations, which represents a valuable inheritance for us. We educate ourself by relying on our experience and the resources of nature instead of herbicides and pesticides, growing Bio cashews naturally.

Intransparency

In Europe, there are countless organic seals, and it is often unclear what practices are associated with each seal. The situation is even more complicated internationally. Does the European organic seal also apply to other continents like Africa, Vietnam or the Philippines? Probably not. 


Can we ensure that the criteria of the European organic seal (which performs less favorably compared to Demeter organic) are met in Africa, Vietnam or the Philippines? We cannot ensure this, creating significant intransparency for consumers who still have to bear the higher costs.


What we can say that in Indonesia, we need to comply to the EU Organic Law and required to be EU certified (Traces) to be able to export our organic product to Europe. We can ensure that the criteria of the European organic seal are met for our products, if we officially certify our products. But will the customer be happy to pay the high cost for organic certification? 

Who Really Benefits

The organic certifiers benefit the most here. It has become a business requiring increasingly obscure proofs and extreme daily fees of over €400 per inspector — 

and that's not even the minimum rate.

COST


The expenses for an organic seal and the related bureaucracy have become very high for a small startup like ours. Additionally, as mentioned earlier, the organic seal does not guarantee that everything is better compared to the organic certification in other countries. Therefore, we rely on our own high quality standard without the application of any chemicals and chemical pesticide. 

We will apply organic certification only upon request of our customers who will take over the cost of the organic certification.

CONCLUSION


We are by no means against Bio cashews. However, at the moment, we cannot and do not want to support these measures. Organic has become a business, we are looking for alternative ways to promote genuine producers.

 

 Shop our CASHEW NUTS 

Processing cashews is quite labor-intensive, requiring a lot of time, multiple production steps, and a delicate touch. It’s also important to consider the health risks associated with the processes involved. As a customer, it's essential for you to understand how this processing is done and to ensure that it takes place under humane working conditions. Nearly all cashew nut processing is done by hand.

The majority of cashew processed in Vietnam

Unfortunately, for cost and profit reasons, most cashew nuts are transported halfway around the world to be processed in Vietnam. This significantly harms the environment, especially since the whole nuts, including their shells, are transported, which are four times heavier than the actual cashew kernels.

Production Steps of Cashew Nuts

Activity on the Farm/PlantationHarvesting the Cashew FruitCleaning of the Cashew KernelsActivity on the WarehouseHand Cold Crack Conventional Semi Automatic MethodSorting and packaging

Activity on the Farm/Plantation

Harvesting the Cashew Fruit

The Harvest start on the field around the Cashew Tree. After harvesting the ripen cashew Fruit from the tree or collecting the fallen cashew fruit, the cashew kernels are removed from the cashew fruit using a twisting motion.

Cleaning of the Cashew Kernels

 The cashew kernels are cleaned with water and brushed manually by hand to remove dirt and impurities and then sun-dried until they reach a moisture content of about 8%. Afterwards, they are transported to the warehouse for processing

Activity on the Warehouse

Processing the Cashew Kernels

In our Production, we use 2 different Processing methods, the Hand Cold Crack and the Conventional Semi Automatic Method. Discover the differences in the section below.

Hand Cold Crack 

Processing takes place on the same day as the harvest, with the nuts being cracked and the shells removed on-site through traditional hand labor. The nuts are not heated, so they remain raw, allowing all their valuable nutrients to be preserved as much as possible. Afterwards, they are gently dried at low temperatures below 42 °C.

Raw cashew kernels are particularly natural and are neither steamed nor otherwise heated. Due to the gentle drying process, they retain more moisture compared to commercially processed cashews, which are often treated at high temperatures. This makes our raw cashew kernels slightly softer. Another quality indicator is their color: very light cashews are often stripped of their skins using steam. Cemil-Cemil cashew kernels are cracked and shelling is done by hand without the use of heat. Thanks to the skill and experience of our local staff, you need not worry about any potential issues from released oils.

Conventional Semi Automatic Method

Upon arrival at the facility, the cashew kernels are gently steamed in ovens or containers. This process makes the shell brittle and burns off the toxic oil. At this stage, the cashew nut can no longer be considered raw, as temperatures exceed 42 degrees. The kernels are then dried for about 24 hours. 

Cracking the cashews from their shells is either done by hand or with specialized cracking machines. These specially designed high-tech machines enhance production while reducing the necessary labor. A modern company can thus process over 50,000 kilograms of nuts per day with just 30 employees!


Sorting and packaging

The cashew nuts, separated from their shells and seed coats, are still sorted by hand, as mechanical sorting creates too much breakage. Once packaged, they are directly shipped to Europe.

The Differences

Hand Cold Crack

Raw Food Quality
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Low Process Heat

Max 42 °C heat from the Sun is used, no additional heating or cooking . 
A Raw Food quality

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Handmade

We cracked/opened our cashew manually by Hand with the help of special knife.

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Premium with More Sweetness

Thanks to this special production method, our Cashew is the sweetest in the market. Taste the difference. All our Cashew are creamy with rich texture and have similar mouthfeel to peanuts.

Conventional Semi Automatic

Boiled, Dried & Mechanically Cracked
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High Heat process

The Cashew will be Cooked/Steamed with high temperature (around 60 °C) to stabilized the cracking process

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Mechanically

The cracking of the Raw Cashew is done by Machine (Automatic or Semi Automatic)

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Premium Taste

Conventional processed Cashew have a mild flavor. All our Cashew are creamy with rich texture and have similar mouthfeel to peanuts.

Are raw cashews healthy? Enjoy with caution!

The high heat typically involved in cooking or steaming is not applied to raw cashews, as the temperature during production must never exceed 42 degrees. This increases the risk of consuming molds and bacteria present in the raw kernels.

We pay close attention to our production processes in Indonesia, ensuring that our facilities, equipment, and handling practices are as sterile as possible. We can also provide certificates from independent laboratories confirming that the product is free from mold, aflatoxins, and other contaminants upon delivery.

Cashews from CEMIL-CEMIL are fairly produced

We aim to support all our family members in our cooperatives by guaranteeing them a better price for their cashew kernels than what intermediaries typically offer.


"Cashews are expensive because there is only one kernel per fruit. The trees need to be planted and maintained, and the fruits must be harvested. The kernels are separated from the pulp, roasted, cooled, cracked, shelled, sun-dried, and sorted—only then can the cashew kernels be sold. The price we pay is actually unreasonably low compared to the labor invested."


As Producer in the origin and exporter, we "Aurelia Da'Gabo" ensures good working conditions, prohibits child labor, and prioritizes the health of workers. 

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