LogFAQs > #968265138

I forgot about those, so I looked them up.

What Happened to Red Pistachios?

The disappearance of red-dyed pistachios can be directly traced to the growth of domestic pistachio production in the United States. Before the 1970s, pistachios were imported from Iran and other Middle Eastern countries to the United States. In addition to mottled markings on the pistachio shells from drying, these imported pistachios generally had a host of unappetizing stains and discolorations due to traditional harvesting methods in which the pistachios were not hulled and washed immediately after harvest

So Middle Eastern producers and exporters took to dying their product red. The few American pistachio producers at the time followed their imported counterparts and began to dye their product as well, if only because Americans were used to seeing these bright red-pink nuts.
But the 1980s saw a decline in imported pistachios as an embargo on Iranian pistachios was enforced, and further economic sanctions on Iran levied on and off for years. The number of American pistachio producers increased in response and began to increase the domestic supply of pistachios quickly. The new mechanized harvesting processes used by American producers now pick, hull, and dry the nuts before the shell can become stained, rendering the need to dye the nuts to hide imperfections unnecessary. Today, 98% of pistachios sold in the United States are produced in California, and the U.S. is the second-largest producer of pistachios after Iran.