Guide
Allergens in pine nuts
Pine nuts are not one of the named UK tree nuts. You list them as an ingredient, but you do not emphasise them as almonds or as nuts. If a pesto or salad uses walnuts or cashews as well, those named nuts are emphasised.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The usual pattern
Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pine trees. They are common in pesto, salads and some biscuits. The legal list of nuts that must be emphasised is closed: almond, hazelnut, walnut, cashew, pecan, Brazil, pistachio, macadamia.
What to check in pine nuts
| What you see | What it means on a PPDS label |
|---|---|
| Pine nuts | Not a named tree nut — still list them |
| Cashews in the same pesto | Tree nuts |
| Walnuts | Tree nuts |
| Peanuts | Peanuts — a separate allergen |
How to write it on the label
PPDS food needs the name of the food and a full ingredients list, with the 14 allergens emphasised every time they appear. The Food Standards Agency’s PPDS guidance is the practical reference. A typical ingredients fragment looks like this — yours must follow the specification of the product you actually use.
Example fragment
Basil, oil, Parmesan (milk), pine nuts, garlic.
Where it shows up
Pesto, salads, stuffing, biscuits and some grain pots.
A blanket nuts emphasis
Writing nuts in bold because pine nuts are in the recipe over-declares the legal category and hides which named nut, if any, is actually present.
People can still react to pine nuts. Listing them clearly by name is the right ingredient practice. The emphasis rule is specifically the 14.
Specification first
Brands differ. Treat this page as the usual pattern, then match the label to the tub, bag or recipe in front of you.
Questions
Should pine nuts be in bold?
Are pine nuts the same as peanuts?
Official sources
Everything on this page traces back to these. Where they and we disagree, they are right — tell us and we'll fix it.
- Introduction to allergen labelling for PPDS foodFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Labelling guidance for prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food productsFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Food allergen labelling and information requirements technical guidanceFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK