I wrote to Australia's number one Peanut Butter producer

[Bretrick]

I commented on their 'Simply Nuts" range being liquid runny, could pour it out of the jar.
Also asked the question why all their Product do not use Australian Peanuts

Here is their reply

Thank you for your recent email and your enquiry into our Bega Simply nuts product.

The 'Simply Nuts' range is a natural peanut butter that contains only peanuts and a pinch of sea salt with no other ingredients. Simply Nuts does not use emulsifiers in the product, meaning the product can become quite runny and/or oily as there is nothing used to prevent the product from liquifying as the peanut oil is being released throughout the product in a natural separation.
As peanuts are 50% oil, grinding releases the oil which is liquid at room temperature. This separation will continue naturally during the life of the product.
We do not add any additional oils to this product and all oil present is solely derived from the ground peanuts and natural separation which can occur between the production process and the time taken to be taken from the shelf.
There is a statement on the label advising you to stir the contents in order to redistribute the oil before spreading. In addition, once you’ve stirred in the natural oils you can store Simply Nuts in the fridge, with refrigeration creating a thicker texture for greater ease of use. This is especially useful in the warmer weather, when oil separation is accelerated by high temperatures.
In regards to the source of our ingredients for Bega Peanut Butter, where possible, we will always source quality ingredients from Australian growers and suppliers.
When these ingredients aren’t available, we will carefully select ingredients from ethical suppliers around the world that meet our rigorous quality and supply requirements. Unfortunately, the peanut industry in Australia can’t quite keep up with the volumes required to enable all of our products to contain 100% Aussie nuts.
Our future goal, however, is to work with the local peanut industry to help boost supply and fuel growth so we can increase the amount of Aussie nuts in all of our products.
In 2018 we acquired the Peanut Company of Australia (PCA) to fuel this goal and help drive industry growth. Since this purchase we have been actively working with Australian peanut farmers to increase the amount of peanuts grown in Australia.
In sourcing our nuts, we consider quality, availability and balance that with consumer’s pricing expectations. Where possible we always strive to source Australian nuts.
All ingredients that are used in our products, regardless of the source country, must meet our stringent quality expectations, so that we can ensure a consistently high-quality product to our consumers.

We comply with the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) requirements for the country of origin labelling of our confectionery products.

Our vision is to have 100% Aussie nuts available to our full portfolio and we will work hard to achieve this over the coming years. We have recently introduced Bega Simply Nuts range that is made from 100% Aussie nuts.

We appreciate the time you have taken in conveying your feedback to us and will certainly make sure this is passed on to our product development and R&D teams.

Your continued support means a lot to all of us.

Kind regards,

Viv
Consumer Support

 

[jhummel73]

That is a very detailed answer. Someone has a lot of time on their hands. However, the information seemed accurate and addressed your questions.
I am a great lover of natural peanut butter, however I think it tastes superior without the salt added.

 

[Jules]

I am a great lover of natural peanut butter, however I think it tastes superior without the salt added.

Agreed. No salt needed.

 

[Aunt Bea]

This is my choice, peanuts and salt are the only ingredients, ground smooth but with a bit of gritty peanut texture.

Make sure to keep the jar upside down on the shelf, it helps with the oil separation, mixing, etc…

On another note, I was upset to hear that Reese’s is using new peanut crème concoctions in some of it’s holiday themed offerings.

So far they haven’t messed with the ingredients in the traditional Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups but we need to keep an eye on them!

 

[hearlady]

This is my choice, peanuts and salt are the only ingredients, ground smooth but with a bit of gritty peanut texture.

Make sure to keep the jar upside down on the shelf, it helps with the oil separation, mixing, etc…
View attachment 487639
On another note, I was upset to hear that Reese’s is using new peanut crème concoctions in some of it’s holiday themed offerings.

So far they haven’t messed with the ingredients in the traditional Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups but we need to keep an eye on them!

I just had this very thing on two slices of sourdough bread. Delicious!
I hate to have to mix it after buying but it's worth it.
Oh, mine was chunky style.

 

[MACKTEXAS]

Their answer was kind of an over-kill. I've eaten regular peanut butter containing emulsifiers all my life. If it's caused any issues, I'm not aware of them. Seems that it would be almost impossible to stir a jar of peanut butter so that the oil on top would be equally distributed throughout the container during it's use, meaning the texture would be ever-changing until the jar was empty.

 

[JustDave]

There used to be a common peanut butter product in the states, called "Adam's Peanut Butter." It was intentionally left un-homogenized, or if that is even something done with most peanut butter. It would separate into layers of peanut oil and pulverized nuts. I thought it was disgusting to look at, but of course you had to stir it before using it. I rejected it, but one friend of mine thought that it was vastly superior to regular peanut butter. He looked down on the other brands with disgust. I think because he said they added sugar to the peanut butter.

But one day I was looking at peanut butter in the latest edition of Consumer Reports, and they put Adam's Peanut Butter on the bottom of their list for quality. I never see it in stores anymore, but I think it must have had a following, maybe among the "back to Earth" crowd that was popular in the 70s.