Open consultation

Risk Management Recommendation on Market Authorisation of One Traditional Food Notification

Published 6 August 2026

Date of publication

6 August 2026.

Document subject and purpose

In this document we publish the Food Standards Agency (FSA) risk management recommendations on one traditional food notification. 

The FSA and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) risk assessors deliver the science behind our advice. They are responsible for identifying and characterising hazards and risks to health and assessing exposure levels. For this traditional food, the application has been considered by a panel of internal FSA and FSS risk assessment experts. Their conclusions can be found in the Annex below. 

The FSA will be making a formal submission to ministers in England and Wales on the final terms of authorisation and will consider stakeholders’ views received from this consultation. FSS will write to their minister with the terms of authorisation recommendations which will have considered stakeholders’ views as a result of this consultation.

Annex: FSA Risk Management Recommendation - RP2323, dried kenari nuts (Canarium indicum L.) (new) (Traditional Food)

Introduction

A notification for the traditional food, dried kenari nuts (Canarium indicum L.) was submitted to the FSA for authorisation in Great Britain (GB) in June 2025 by Kawanasi Sehat Dasacatur, PT.  

For a traditional food from a third country to be placed on the market in GB, a notification shall be submitted in accordance with assimilated Regulation 2015/2283 (“the Novel Food Regulations”).   

Under Article 14 of the Regulation, traditional foods which have a history of safe use in a third country, as defined by Article 3.2(b) of the Novel Food Regulations, can be authorised by ministers. These authorised traditional foods will have been safely consumed outside of the United Kingdom and the European Union for at least 25 continuous years before the notification is made.

Expert Assessment Summary

For this traditional food, the application has been considered by a panel of internal FSA  and FSS risk assessment experts. The assessment of dried kenari nuts (Canarium indicum L.) concluded there are no duly reasoned safety objections to the placing on the market in GB of the traditional food under the proposed conditions of use.  

The assessment summary recognises the following potential concerns which require further appropriate risk mitigation to ensure continued consumer safety:  

• potential allergenicity for consumers with existing nut allergies (e.g. hazelnut, cashew, or pistachio) 
• presence of mycotoxins in the traditional food 

The FSA therefore proposes the following conditions for the authorisation of the traditional food to protect consumers:   

1. To mitigate the risk of nut allergic consumers being exposed to the traditional food, the FSA proposes that any foods containing the traditional food must be clearly labelled that – ‘Kenari nuts may cause allergic reactions to consumers with known allergies to hazelnut, cashew and pistachio’. 
2. To reduce the exposure of consumers to mycotoxins from the traditional food, the FSA proposes to set a limit for acceptable moisture content.  

The proposals are reflected in the terms of authorisation.

Relevant legislation

• Assimilated Regulation 2015/2283 (“the Novel Food Regulations”).   

• Assimilated Regulation 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers.

Terms of Authorisation

The proposed terms of authorisation are set out below:

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Authorised Novel Food	Conditions under which the novel food may be used	Additional specific labelling requirements	Other requirements
Canarium indicum L. dried nuts (Kenari) (traditional food from a third country)	Specified food category: Not specified. Maximum levels: NA	1. The designation of the novel food on the labelling of the food containing it is ‘dried kenari (Canarium indicum) nuts’. 2. The labelling of the food containing dried nuts of Canarium indicum L. must bear a statement that the nuts may cause allergic reactions to consumers with known allergies to hazelnut, cashew and pistachio. This statement shall appear in close proximity to the list of ingredients or, in the absence of a list of ingredients, in close proximity to the name of the food. The food information must be presented in accordance with the provisions of assimilated Regulation 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers which apply to mandatory food information.

                                   

Specification

Description/Definition:         The traditional food is processed dried kenari nuts. The term “Kenari Nuts” refers to the kernels of ripe Kenari fruit, scientifically known as Canarium indicum L. (or Canarium amboinense Hochr.; family: Burseraceae).         Composition:         Ash: ≤ 5 g/100 g         Moisture: ≤ 6 g/100 g         Protein: 12.8–14.4 g/100 g         Carbohydrates: 11.0–16.4 g/100 g         Fat: 59.3–66.3 g/100 g         Dietary fibre: 4.4–9.8 g/100 g         Microbiological Criteria:         Aerobic Plate Count: ≤ 5.0 x 10³ CFU/g         Coliforms: < 3 MPN/g         Escherichia coli: < 3 MPN/g         Yeasts & moulds: < 10 CFU/g         Salmonella: Absent in 25 g         Staphylococcus aureus: Absent in 25 g         Listeria monocytogenes: Absent in 25 g         Aflatoxins:         Aflatoxin B1: ≤ 2 µg/kg         Sum of aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2: ≤ 4 µg/kg         Dioxins and dioxin like PCBs:         Sum of dioxins: ≤ 0.75 pg/g fat         Sum of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs: ≤ 1.5 pg/g fat         Heavy Metals:         Cadmium (Cd): ≤ 0.02 mg/kg         Lead (Pb): ≤ 0.07 mg/kg         CFU: colony forming unit; MPN: most probable number

Proposed uses

Per the terms of the traditional food notification process, the authorised uses may only be those covered by traditional use evidenced in the notification.   

Evidence demonstrates continuous safe use of the traditional food as whole nuts and as an ingredient in a wide range of dishes for the general population in a third country for over 25 years. Given the breadth of both the traditional uses and the proposed uses, categorisation into specific food types is not needed. The food is considered safe when consumed as a nut or as an ingredient in other foods.

Supplementary information

N/A

Labelling

Article 9(3)(b) of assimilated Regulation 2015/2283 provides that an authorisation of a novel food should include additional specific labelling requirements.  

1. The designation of the novel food on the labelling of the food containing it is ‘dried kenari (Canarium indicum) nuts’ 

2. The labelling of the food containing the traditional food must bear a statement that ‘Kenari nuts may cause allergic reactions to consumers with known allergies to hazelnut, cashew and pistachio’. This statement shall appear in close proximity to the list of ingredients or, in the absence of a list of ingredients, in close proximity to the name of the food. 

The food information must be presented in accordance with the provisions of assimilated Regulation 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers which apply to mandatory food information.

Transitional requirements/ provisions

N/A

Further explanation/ Rationale

N/A

Post Marketing Monitoring

N/A

Definitions

N/A

Other Legitimate Factors

N/A

Impacts

As part of the assessment conducted to determine whether to raise a duly reasoned safety assessment in line with Article 15, the FSA assessed the safety of this traditional food and the potential impacts arising from its authorisation. No significant safety concerns were identified. 

The authorisation of this product should generally result in greater market competition, supporting growth and innovation in the sector.

Trade

Food exported from the UK to other countries/blocs will need to continue to meet the rules of those countries/blocs.

EU

Dried kenari nuts (Canarium indicum L.) is already approved for use in the EU.  

The UK Government is negotiating a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement with the EU, following the commitment made at the UK-EU Summit in May 2025. This Agreement would create a common UK-EU SPS Zone and follow a model of dynamic alignment with EU law in SPS policy areas. This includes the law on regulated food and feed products in GB.  

The FSA is working across Government to carefully consider and understand the implications of an SPS Agreement with the EU. Any future arrangement of this type must protect consumers’ interests in relation to food safety and standards in the UK. The FSA is committed to maintaining our mission to ensure that food is safe and what it says it is as part of an SPS Agreement.

Northern Ireland

This product is already authorised for use in Northern Ireland. The authorisation of this product in GB would create alignment with Northern Ireland.

Risk Management Recommendation

The FSA risk management recommendation concludes dried kenari nuts (Canarium indicum L.) as described in this notification, is safe and is not liable to have an adverse effect on the target population, environmental safety and human health with the proposed uses.