This bill designates the hazelnut as the official State nut of New Jersey. The legislation highlights the significance of hazelnuts within a growing multi-billion-dollar industry, noting the increasing demand for hazelnut-based products such as nut butters, baked goods, and candy. It also addresses the challenges posed by the eastern filbert blight, a fungal disease that has historically hindered the commercial cultivation of hazelnuts in New Jersey and other states outside the Pacific Northwest.

The bill acknowledges the efforts of Rutgers University, which initiated a research and breeding program in 1996 to develop hazelnut varieties resistant to the eastern filbert blight. In 2020, the university successfully released its first resistant varieties, named Raritan and others in honor of New Jersey counties. With over 30 growers planting more than 100 acres of hazelnut trees, New Jersey has become the first state on the East Coast to cultivate this cash crop, making the designation of the hazelnut as the State nut both fitting and timely.