What guidance does FDA have for manufacturers of Nuts and Nut Products?

Nuts are adulterated if they are insect infested or insect damaged, moldy, rancid, or dirty. Empty or worthless unshelled nuts should be removed by careful hand sorting or by machinery.

Nuts and nut meats must be prepared and stored under sanitary conditions to prevent contamination by insects, rodents, or other animals. Nuts imported for pressing of food oil must be just as clean and sound as nuts intended to be eaten as such or to be used in manufactured foods.

Defect action levels have been established for most varieties of nuts. Deliberate mixing of good and bad lots is prohibited even though the percentage of defects in the resulting mixed lots is less than the defect action level.

Care should be taken to eliminate infested, dirty, moldy, or rancid nuts from shipments. Conditions which may cause nuts to be refused admission are described below:

• Insect Infestation- Nuts are insect-infested if they contain live or dead insects, whether larvae, pupae, or adults, or if they show definite evidence of insect feeding or cutting, or if insect excreta pellets are present.

• Dirt- Nut meats may become dirty because of insanitary conditions during cracking, sorting, and packaging.

• Mold- Nut meats occasionally are moldy in the shell and bear fruiting mold or mold hyphae.

• Rancidity- Nuts in this class have an abnormal flavor characterized by rancidity. Rancid nuts are frequently soft and have a yellow, dark, or oily appearance.

• Extraneous Material- Stems, shells, stones, excreta should not be present.

• Aflatoxins- The aflatoxins are a group of chemically related substances produced naturally by the growth of certain common molds of the Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus species. The aflatoxins, especially aflatoxin B1, are highly toxic, primarily causing acute liver damage in exposed animals. Aflatoxin B1 also exhibits highly potent cancer-producing properties in certain species of experimental animals.

  Based on studies of certain population groups, it is suspected that the consumption of aflatoxin containing foods is associated with liver cancer in humans, particularly in developing nations. The presence of excess aflatoxin levels in nuts and other products is a significant public health problem and is a basis for seizing or refusing imports of products containing it.

• Bitter Almonds- Because of their toxicity, bitter almonds may not be marketed in the United States for unrestricted use. Shipments of sweet almonds should not contain more than 5 percent of bitter almonds. Almond paste and pastes made from other kernels should contain less than 25 parts per million of hydrocyanic acid (HCN) naturally occurring in the kernels.

Standards for Nut Products- Mixed nuts, and peanut butter are subject to FDA standards (21 CFR 164). The standards establish requirements governing as the proportions of various kinds of nuts and the label designations for "mixed nuts," the fill-of-container for shelled nuts, and the ingredients and labeling for peanut butter. All packers and shippers of nut products should be aware of the requirements of these standards.