Indian HPS peanuts have traditionally been shipped in 50 kg jute bags, and PP woven bags are also common. Vacuum packs, usually 25 kg in a strong plastic bag inside a carton, are used for blanched peanuts, high grades and goods that will be stored for a long time.
The right choice depends on your product, your warehouse and your customer's food safety rules. Each option has a cost, a load weight and a risk profile.
The main options
- Jute bags: breathable and strong, traditional for raw HPS kernels. They allow some air exchange but also let moisture and odours in.
- PP woven bags: lighter and cheaper, often with an inner liner. They shed fewer fibres than jute but breathe less.
- Paper bags with liners: used by some food manufacturers who want cleaner handling.
- Vacuum packs: air removed from a multi-layer bag, packed in a carton. They protect against oxidation and insects.
- Nitrogen-flushed packs: oxygen replaced with nitrogen, often for roasted or blanched kernels.
- Jumbo bags: larger bulk bags for crushing or industrial use.
Jute: points to watch
Jute fibres can end up in the product, which some food manufacturers treat as foreign matter. Jute is also processed with batching oil. Ask for food-grade jute made with vegetable-based oil rather than mineral oil, to avoid hydrocarbon contamination. Jute bags in a damp container can also pass moisture to the kernels.
Jute is still widely accepted for raw kernels that the buyer will roast, blanch or sort again. Many buyers also like it because it is a natural, reusable material. Check your own customer's foreign matter rules first.
Vacuum packs: points to watch
Vacuum packs cost more and take more care. A pinhole lets air back in, and the pack loses its benefit without anyone noticing. Ask the supplier to check seal integrity and pack a few spare packs. Cartons take more space, so a container may hold less weight than with bags. The trade-off is covered in how many tonnes of peanuts or sesame fit in a container.
Container and marking
Whatever the bag, the container matters. It should be clean, dry, odour free and often lined with kraft paper, with desiccants where your buyer requires them. Load after the container has been inspected. Advice on this is in how to prevent condensation and mould in oilseed containers.
Mark each bag or carton with product, count, crop year, lot number, net and gross weight and your own marks. Lot numbers are what let you trace a problem and make a claim.
How Creston & Co handles this
We agree the packing material and marking with the processor in writing, check bags or vacuum packs at inspection and supervise the container loading. If you want your own brand or pack size, we arrange that too. Ask for a free sourcing review.