Q. What are high-oleic peanuts?

A.    High-oleic peanuts are peanuts that contain a higher amount of oleic acid compared to standard peanuts.

Oleic Acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid. It is known as a good fat, reducing the amount of LDL (bad cholesterol) whilst boosting the levels of HDL (good cholesterol).

Monounsaturated fats are commonly found in foods such as nuts, seeds, olive oil, canola oil and avocados.

This increase in the level of oleic acid in these peanuts and the consequential drop in linoleic acid (polyunsaturated) means that high-oleic peanuts are also less likely to go rancid and can last 8 times longer than regular peanuts.

High-oleic peanuts were first bred in the United States and arrived in Australia in 1995. It took seven years of trials and testing before they became commercially available, according to the PCA.