{"id":10513,"date":"2026-04-17T08:42:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T03:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.target-agriculture.com\/?p=10513"},"modified":"2026-04-17T14:24:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T08:54:51","slug":"mosh-moah-in-cashew-nuts-what-you-need-to-know-for-eu-2027","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.target-agriculture.com\/de\/mosh-moah-in-cashew-nuts-what-you-need-to-know-for-eu-2027\/","title":{"rendered":"MOSH & MOAH in Cashew Nuts: What You Need to Know for EU 2027"},"content":{"rendered":"

For organic cashew exporters and buyers alike, a new compliance deadline is fast approaching. Starting January 2027<\/strong>, the European Union will enforce maximum permitted limits for Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons (MOAH)<\/strong> in tree nuts \u2014 including cashew \u2014 marking a significant shift in food safety regulation. <\/p>\n

But what exactly are MOSH and MOAH? Where do they come from, and what impacts do they have on human health that have recently drawn significant attention from the food industry? How do they end up in cashew products, and what does this mean for the supply chain? This article breaks it all down.<\/p>\n

\"MOSH<\/h2>\n

What are MOSH & MOAH?<\/h2>\n

Food safety is always a top priority in the modern food industry. Recently, MOSH and MOAH\u2014compounds derived from mineral oil\u2014have become a major concern due to their potential to enter food during processing, packaging, and transportation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Mineral\u00a0oil hydrocarbons (MOH) comprise a wide range of chemical compounds obtained mainly from petroleum distillation and refining. They are categorised into two main groups referred to as MOSH <\/i><\/a>(Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbons) and MOAH<\/i><\/a> <\/i>(Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons).<\/p>\n

MOSH<\/a> consists<\/i>\u00a0of linear and branched alkanes, and alkyl-substituted cyclo-alkanes, whilst MOSH <\/i><\/a><\/span>\u00a0includes mainly alkyl-substituted polyaromatic hydrocarbons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What impacts do they have on human health?\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

The potential human health impact of MOH varies widely. MOAH with 3- or more aromatic rings may be associated with genotoxicity and carcinogenicity (they can damage DNA<\/i>, the genetic material of cells, and may cause cancer), while MOSH may accumulate in various organs, but the present dietary exposure to MOSH does not raise concern for human health, for all age classes.<\/p>\n

How do MOSH and MOAH enter our food?<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(MOSH and MOAH can enter our food in each step of the processing and production chain.)<\/p>\n

MOSH and MOAH can enter food at virtually every step of the processing and production chain. The main sources of contamination include:<\/p>\n

– Printing inks and recycled cardboard packaging<\/p>\n

– Lubricants from food-producing equipment (machine oils, hydraulic oils)<\/p>\n

– Atmospheric exposure during processing<\/p>\n

In cashew processing specifically<\/strong>, MOSH and MOAH may originate from oils used to clean machinery, such as during the cracking stage, testa peeling, and lubricants used in air compressors. In addition, they may also come from packaging materials that contain MOSH and MOAH, leading to potential cross-contamination in cashew products.<\/p>\n

How are MOSH and MOAH regulated?<\/h2>\n

To date, there are currently no MRLs in food at the European and national level. According to the current evaluation by representatives of the food control authorities of the federal states and the organization of Food Federation Germany (Lebensmittelverband Deutschland), the following benchmark levels have been published for mineral oil hydrocarbons in nuts, oilseeds, coconuts, peanuts and dried fruits (benchmark levels for mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) in food, September 2022):<\/p>\n

– MOSH (C10-C50): 4 mg\/kg<\/p>\n

– MOAH (C10-C50): not quantifiable (max. limit of quantification: 1 mg\/kg for products with a fat content >4 %)<\/p>\n

After a long period of risk assessment on human health and based on the collected data on MOAH and MOSH, the food safety authorities of the\u00a0European Union\u00a0have notified the\u00a0World Trade Organization\u00a0under the\u00a0Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures\u00a0of their intention to set maximum permitted limits (maximum levels) for mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) in certain foods, which will apply from 1 January 2027.<\/p>\n

According to Committee (G\/SPS\/N\/EU\/930)\u00a0the proposed maximum residue limits (MRLs) for\u00a0MOAH (C10\u2013C50)\u00a0in\u00a0tree nuts\u2014including almonds, Brazil nuts, cashew nuts, chestnuts, coconuts, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine kernels, pistachios, and walnuts\u2014are:\u00a02.0 mg\/kg<\/p>\n

And for other food categories, as shown in the table below:<\/p>\n

\n

\"Mineral<\/p>\n

How Target Agriculture Manages MOSH & MOAH in Organic Cashew<\/strong><\/h2>\n

At Target Agriculture Vietnam<\/a>, managing MOSH and MOAH contamination has been a core part of our quality assurance framework since 2019<\/strong> \u2014 well ahead of the upcoming EU regulatory deadline.<\/p>\n

We strictly control the entire supply chain, from farm to customer. All product lots are tested to ensure compliance with the guidelines of the food control authorities of the federal states and the Food Federation Germany<\/span><\/span> before being delivered to customers.<\/p>\n

Target Agriculture Group<\/strong> is a leading producer and exporter of organic cashew nuts, pioneering in the control of MOSH and MOAH. We are committed to ensuring that all cashew lots are consistently of high quality, great taste, and safe for consumer health. We continuously update and apply the latest regulatory requirements and control standards.<\/p>\n

Reference information as below:<\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/epdf\/10.2903\/j.efsa.2012.2704<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.packaging.kuraray.eu\/blog\/mosh-moah\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.efsa.europa.eu\/en\/topics\/topic\/mineral-oil-hydrocarbons<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

https:\/\/agrinfo.eu\/book-of-reports\/mineral-oil-hydrocarbons-and-food\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2192 GET IN TOUCH WITH OUR TEAM\u00a0<\/a><\/h1>\n

\"\"YOUTUBE<\/a> – LINKEDIN<\/a><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For organic cashew exporters and buyers alike, a new compliance deadline is fast approaching. Starting January 2027, the European Union will enforce maximum permitted limits for Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons (MOAH) in tree nuts \u2014 including cashew \u2014 marking a significant shift in food safety regulation.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[284],"tags":[290,289,285,291],"class_list":["post-10513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media","tag-cashew-nuts","tag-mosh-moah","tag-target-agriculture-group","tag-target-agriculture-vietnam"],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"trp-custom-language-flag":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"tramhuynh@target-agriculture.com","author_link":"https:\/\/www.target-agriculture.com\/de\/author\/tramhuynhtarget-agriculture-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"For organic cashew exporters and buyers alike, a new compliance deadline is fast approaching. Starting January 2027, the European Union will enforce maximum permitted limits for Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons (MOAH) in tree nuts \u2014 including cashew \u2014 marking a significant shift in food safety regulation.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.target-agriculture.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.target-agriculture.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.target-agriculture.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.target-agriculture.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.target-agriculture.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10513"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/www.target-agriculture.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10607,"href":"https:\/\/www.target-agriculture.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10513\/revisions\/10607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.target-agriculture.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.target-agriculture.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.target-agriculture.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}