Question: A customer asked to store peanuts in a member’s facility. The member was concerned about storing peanuts in his facility that uses ammonia refrigeration, rather than the recommended Freon refrigeration. While the customer was comfortable storing peanuts in the ammonia refrigeration, the member asked the GCCA Inquiry Service for detailed information on the warnings for storing peanuts in ammonia, particularly in regard to no leak/no risk.

Answer: Per the WFLO Commodity Storage Manual: “It is usually recommended that nuts and nutmeats be stored only in brine or Freon refrigerated cold rooms.  However, this is always not possible and therefore, they sometimes have to be in a plant that uses ammonia in its refrigeration system.  Because of the rapid and extreme blackening that occurs on contact with even small concentrations of ammonia gas, extra care and control of the ammonia system is necessary.  Ammonia damaged nuts and nutmeats cannot be salvaged.”

Read more in the WFLO Commodity Storage Manual, available to IARW Warehouse and WFLO members.