What tree nuts does the FDA list as major food allergens?

The FDA table names almond, black walnut, Brazil nut, California walnut, cashew, filbert or hazelnut, heartnut, macadamia, pecan, pine nut, pistachio and English or Persian walnut. The guidance says only nuts on that table are major food allergens for labeling.

Are pine nuts a tree nut for FDA labeling?

Yes. The FDA table lists pine nut or pinon nut among the tree nuts it treats as major food allergens. That matters for green sauces, which are classically made with pine nuts. Ask the kitchen what the green sauce contains.

Does a menu have to name the nut?

On a package, the FDA says the specific nut must be named. A plated dish placed in a container in response to your order is outside those federal labeling requirements, so the word "nuts" on a menu may not say which one. Ask.

What should I ask about desserts?

Ask what the filling, topping and crust are made of, and whether the item sat on a shared tray or was scooped with a shared utensil. A short question to the cook is better than guessing from the name of the dessert.

How can I find good food and share what I learn with friends?

Mosey is a food app that helps you find, rate and share dishes. Rate each dish with a note about the nut question, add tags as one diner's note, follow friends who avoid nuts and share a list with them.

How to

Tree Nut Allergy When Eating Out: Pesto, Pastry and Flour

Mosey · November 11, 2026 · 5 min read

Tree nut allergy when eating out is mostly a question of spotting the nut you did not expect: a green sauce, a pastry filling, a sauce thickened with ground almonds. The FDA counts a defined list of tree nuts as major food allergens, and a plated dish in a dining room is not labeled like a package.

Your doctor decides what applies to you, and a clear question to the kitchen does the rest.

Which nuts count in a tree nut allergy when eating out?

The FDA's guidance for packaged food has a table of tree nuts it treats as major allergens: almond, black walnut, Brazil nut, California walnut, cashew, filbert or hazelnut, heartnut or Japanese walnut, macadamia, pecan, pine nut, pistachio and English or Persian walnut. The guidance says only the nuts in that table are major food allergens, and that other tree nuts used as ingredients must still be named in an ingredient list.

Packages must name the specific nut, so a label says "almond" or "walnut", not a broad word. A menu has no such rule, which is why "contains nuts" on a chalkboard leaves you guessing about which nut it means.

Why does pesto matter for a tree nut allergy?

Classic basil pesto is made with pine nuts, and the FDA table lists pine nut or pinon nut as a tree nut. Other kitchens swap in walnuts, almonds or cashews, or add a handful of nuts to a green sauce that is not called pesto at all. It shows up on pizza, in sandwiches, in pasta salads and as a swirl on soup, so it is rarely in the place the menu title suggests.

Ask what the green sauce is made from and whether it was made in house. If a dish is described as a sauce "made fresh", that is a reason to ask, not a comfort.

Where do nut flours and sauces turn up?

Ground nuts behave like flour and like cream, which is why they travel into dishes that do not look nutty. These are general patterns in cooking.

Almond flour in baking that skips wheat, in pancakes and in crusts.
Ground almonds or cashews in creamy curries, and in some stews that are thickened rather than floured.
Nut pastes in some moles and romesco-style sauces.
Nut butters in dressings, smoothies and breakfast bowls.
Plant-based milks and cheeses made from nuts, which sit beside dairy on many menus.

Ask what thickens the sauce and what the crust or batter is made of. A cook can answer both in a few seconds.

What about desserts and the pastry case?

Desserts are where nuts are easiest to predict and easiest to meet by accident. Marzipan and frangipane are almond fillings, baklava is layered with chopped nuts and syrup, and pralines and nut brittles are sold by the slice or by the scoop. Cookies and cakes can carry nuts in the dough as well as on top, and a chocolate can hide a hazelnut center.

Ice cream is a good example of the quiet risk. A flavor with no nuts in it can still be scooped with a utensil that touched a nutty flavor. Ask for a clean scoop, and ask whether a pastry was baked on a tray shared with nut items.

How do you ask about cross-contact with nuts?

Cross-contact is when an allergen gets into a food through a shared tool, tray, blender or surface. Short questions work best, and they work best when asked before the order is fired.

Is there a separate blender or clean pitcher for my drink?
Was this baked or plated near nut items?
Is the garnish added by hand, and can it be left off?

The FDA says an allergen advisory such as "may contain" is voluntary and is not covered by the federal labeling law. A menu with no advisory tells you little, so treat the question as the real answer, and write down what you were told.

How can Mosey help you remember what a kitchen said?

Rate the dish you ate rather than the whole place, and add a line about the nut question and the answer you got. Tags are one diner's note on one visit, so a stored tag such as Nut-Free is never a promise. A friend who also avoids nuts can follow you and see the dishes you rated and saved. Over a few months the notes become a record of which kitchens answered clearly and which dishes you chose, and that is worth more than a memory.

Mosey can also hide dishes by allergen. If you choose Tree nuts, any dish whose place has listed tree nuts for it disappears from the menu or the Dishes page, and a dish with nothing filled in stays visible, marked as not listed. The app keeps your choice on your phone, and it never filters places, only dishes. Not listed means silence, so ask. The ratings page and the lists page show how notes and shared lists work.

What else covers eating out with allergies?

Mosey costs a place nothing to list, adds no hidden fees and offers affordable tools, so a small kitchen can spend its time on its craft and the neighborhood supports it. A place can declare its allergens for each dish in its own dashboard.

Next time a menu makes you hesitate, get the Mosey app, rate the dish you ate and record who answered your nut question.

Questions

Common questions

What tree nuts does the FDA list as major food allergens?
The FDA table names almond, black walnut, Brazil nut, California walnut, cashew, filbert or hazelnut, heartnut, macadamia, pecan, pine nut, pistachio and English or Persian walnut. The guidance says only nuts on that table are major food allergens for labeling.
Are pine nuts a tree nut for FDA labeling?
Yes. The FDA table lists pine nut or pinon nut among the tree nuts it treats as major food allergens. That matters for green sauces, which are classically made with pine nuts. Ask the kitchen what the green sauce contains.
Does a menu have to name the nut?
On a package, the FDA says the specific nut must be named. A plated dish placed in a container in response to your order is outside those federal labeling requirements, so the word "nuts" on a menu may not say which one. Ask.
What should I ask about desserts?
Ask what the filling, topping and crust are made of, and whether the item sat on a shared tray or was scooped with a shared utensil. A short question to the cook is better than guessing from the name of the dessert.
How can I find good food and share what I learn with friends?
Mosey is a food app that helps you find, rate and share dishes. Rate each dish with a note about the nut question, add tags as one diner's note, follow friends who avoid nuts and share a list with them.