And although we buy on contract from PCA, we never purchase more than a week's supply at any time. Why? To ensure maximum freshness right at the outset.

Then we hand-cook our flavoured and salted varieties in weekly batches before packing them into air-tight bags. This is so we can be certain they're as fresh as they possibly can be by the time they reach our customers' hands. (Other varieties - such as cooked in shell and sugar-coated peanuts - are generally cooked the night before. You simply can't get any fresher than this!)

Nitpicking? We sure are! And we apply the same level of meticulous attention to our other ingredients as well.

For instance, we only use pure vegetable oils for cooking. We even purchase our own special salt directly from a Queensland salt supplier to ensure that no residual salt is retained by either the peanuts or the packaging.

The same applies to our peanut paste which is prepared on our premises as needed. Our peanut paste contains absolutely no additives (such as emulsifiers, preservatives, added oil or salt). Just pure, perfect Kingaroy peanuts!

NB: The Peanut Van was one of the first companies in Australia to pioneer flavouring peanuts. Our unique recipes for Kurry, Savoury Tomato, Hickory, Smoked and BBQ flavoured nuts have never been successfully duplicated - though many have tried. Once again, our flavourings are 100% natural and made from only the purest and freshest ingredients we can obtain.

Part of this "Buy Australian" approach comes from our desire to help other small businesses achieve their potential. We really think small business is the backbone of Australia - and it's certainly the backbone of most country towns.

But another is that we simply find Australian products (particularly in the souvenir field) are much better quality than imported souvenirs. And we always want our customers to get the very best!

She also agitated with the local Council to install litter bins in the Van's vicinity. And when she began hiring staff she made "emu parading" (ie picking up litter) one of the regular duties of everyone who works with us.

In our manufacturing:, the only wastes we generate are the reject peanuts and peanut dust that come from picking and sorting as we prepare our products (and they're both bio-degradable)

The polyethylene and paper bags that our peanuts are delivered to us in are used by our staff, family and friends for pets' bedding, floormats and rubbish bags.

The vegetable cooking oil drums we use are also eagerly sought after by locals for farm storage; the vegetable oils are recycled; and all our cardboard packaging is given to recyclers too.

We're always looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint. And as technology continues to evolve better ways of doing this, you can rest assured that we'll be right there with it. After all, we're farmers! And we respect the land that gives us our living.