Scope and method
This manual states how Category 28 Nuts, Seeds, and Their Butters is certified for metal safety. It does not certify efficacy, legality, or approval status. Inorganic arsenic is capped at total arsenic and tested on the program retest schedule. It does not carry a separate number, and it never replaces the parent. Methylmercury is capped at total mercury and tested on the program retest schedule. It does not carry a separate number, and it never replaces the parent. Hexavalent chromium is capped at total chromium and tested on the program retest schedule. It does not carry a separate number, and it never replaces the parent. Every figure in the matrix is read from the live standard record. Nothing in this manual invents a ceiling.
Method: government-limit default (Method v2.0). Why Method v1 was retired is on the method page. The six live standards remain the derivation of each cell. A product is certified only at or below 100% of every published ceiling. The v1 PDF carries the program rules and the standards register, including each house DOI.
Master limit matrix
All values are ppb (µg/kg), in the row's basis. Click any subcategory for its derivation. A dash is a species capped at its parent total (inorganic arsenic at total arsenic, methylmercury at total mercury, hexavalent chromium at total chromium) and tested on the program retest schedule. It is not an empty cell and not an invented number.
| Subcategory | Pb | iAs | tAs | Hg | MeHg | Cd | Cr-VI | Ni | Sn | Al | Cr | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cashews (cashew nuts, whole and pieces) | 200 | — | 800 | 400 | — | 200 | — | 10000 | 250000 | 100000 | 1000 | as sold |
| Nut and seed butters (almond, cashew, tahini/sesame, and other non-sunflower non-peanut butters) | 200 | — | 800 | 400 | — | 100 | — | 3500 | 250000 | 100000 | 1000 | as sold |
| Nuts and seeds (general tree nuts and non-sunflower oilseeds: almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, pecans, macadamias, sesame, flax, pumpkin, other) | 200 | — | 800 | 400 | — | 100 | — | 3500 | 250000 | 100000 | 1000 | as sold |
| Sunflower seed butter (ground sunflower seeds) | 1000 | — | 1000 | 400 | — | 500 | — | 8000 | 250000 | 100000 | 1000 | as sold |
| Sunflower seeds (a known cadmium accumulator) | 1000 | — | 1000 | 400 | — | 500 | — | 8000 | 250000 | 100000 | 1000 | as sold |
| High-nickel tree nuts (walnuts, pine nuts, Brazil nuts, chestnuts) | 200 | — | 800 | 400 | — | 200 | — | 10000 | 250000 | 100000 | 1000 | as sold |
Risk Flag
Certification is decided on the product's own tested lot against the published ceiling. The limit is that ceiling on the live standard. Occurrence data do not set it. An individual lot can still exceed a limit.
About this edition
Standards are living, versioned documents; each subcategory page carries its own version history and dated change log. This is the current web edition. The Manual v1 PDF is downloadable from the rail. Its program text and standards register match this page. The live subcategory pages remain the derivation of each cell. The manual DOI is not deposited yet.
The literature baseline underlying these certification limits is maintained independently at the Heavy Metal Index. This certification standard applies those findings; the two are kept editorially separate by design.