Ready Roast Nut Company is pleased to announce the opening of its peanut processing plant in Portales, New Mexico. The plant will specialize in processing Valencia and organic peanuts grown within a 120 mile radius of the facility. Initially, the plant will employ between 50–75 people, with up to 200 employees projected to be employed during the harvest season.
“Our entire team is excited about adding peanuts to the Ready Roast portfolio; we see a terrific growth opportunity with the facility in New Mexico. Adding peanuts, especially Valencia and organic peanuts helps position our company to take advantage of the increasing demand for natural and great tasting peanut-related snacks and nut butters,” said Tom Finn, ready roast founder.
Valencia peanuts are unique since it frequently contains three to four peanuts in each pod and are naturally sweeter than other peanut varieties. These qualities make Valencia peanuts preferred for natural peanut butters, candy, and ice cream because this type of peanut delivers a high quality, sweet tasting product with less added sugar.
New Mexico and Texas offer ideal growing conditions for Valencia peanuts, particularly organics, because of the region’s higher elevations, drier climates, and shorter growing seasons. These factors also make the plantings less susceptible to pests and diseases. Ready Roast operates three facilities in California. The newest tree nut facility in Madera, Calif., was awarded 2013 Plant of the Year by the DFA of California—driven by its food safety emphasis and physical separation between the raw and finished processing areas. In August of this year, the same facility was recertified as SQF Level 3 with an Excellent rating, the highest level awarded by the Safe Quality Food Program (SQF), a Global Food Safety Initiative (GSFI) standard.
According to Ann Billek, Ready Roast Founder, “We plan to implement the same food safety policies and procedures at the New Mexico facility that we employ at our California facilities.”
About Ready Roast Nut Company
Ready Roast Nut Company was established in 2006 by three professionals from the food processing industry to fill the growing demand for value-added nut products. Ready Roast currently has four processing facilities, three in California and one in New Mexico. The company processes tree nuts, seeds, and peanuts for consumers and a variety of companies including some of the world’s largest confection and dairy companies. Ready Roast has worked hard to earn the trust of their clients by offering only the highest quality, value-added processed nuts, seeds, and peanuts. Protecting the clients’ brands is always top-of-mind—which is why the company adheres to the industries’ most stringent safety processes. Additional information about Ready Roast can be found at www.ReadyRoast.com.