Can You Label Your Food Nut-Free or Peanut-Free? The Rules
Nut-free is one of the most safety-critical words you can put on a food, because a buyer who trusts it and is wrong can end up in an emergency room. Here is what surprises sellers: the FDA has not defined nut-free, peanut-free, or tree-nut-free, and there is no legal threshold for cross-contact. That makes these voluntary claims you carry the full weight of. Here is how to use them honestly.
Peanuts and tree nuts are two different allergens
Under U.S. law, peanuts and tree nuts are separate major allergens. Peanuts are legumes, not nuts, and tree nuts, the almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews and the rest, are their own category. A food can be peanut-free and still contain tree nuts, so the words are not interchangeable, and each one you use has to be named in the ingredient list or a Contains line.
Nut-free is a voluntary claim with no legal line
The FDA has not defined nut-free, peanut-free, or tree-nut-free, and it has not set a threshold for how much cross-contact is allowed. That leaves the claim entirely on you to back up. Because an allergic reaction can be severe, an inaccurate free-from claim is one of the highest-liability things on a food label, and it is the kind of claim that leads to recalls.
May contain is voluntary too, and does not replace the Contains line
A caution like may contain tree nuts or made on shared equipment with peanuts is voluntary, unregulated, and has no set legal meaning, but it is the honest way to warn about cross-contact you cannot rule out. It does not replace the required Contains line for allergens you actually use as ingredients. Use both where each one applies.
What Nutripane does and does not do
Nutripane builds your allergen line from the ingredients you enter, so peanuts and tree nuts you use are named. It cannot verify that your kitchen, your equipment, or your suppliers are free of nut cross-contact, because a free-from claim depends on your process, not the label. Make a nut-free claim only when your sourcing and your kitchen truly support it.
Questions
Is peanut-free the same as nut-free?
No. Peanuts are legumes and tree nuts are a separate allergen category, so a peanut-free food can still contain tree nuts like almonds or walnuts. If you mean to be free of both, you have to be free of both, and it is safer to be specific about which one you are claiming.
Do I have to add a may contain nuts warning?
No. Cross-contact statements are voluntary, and the FDA does not require or define them. But if there is a real chance of nut cross-contact in your kitchen, a plain caution is the honest way to protect an allergic buyer, and it does not replace naming nuts you actually use as ingredients.
Keep reading
This page is general information, not legal advice. Cottage food and food labeling rules vary by state and change over time. Confirm current requirements with your state's cottage food program and the FDA before you sell. See your state's rules or how to label your product.