The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA) identified eight major food allergen categories that accounted for more than 90 percent of all documented food allergies in the U.S. These top eight allergen categories are milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans. While the FDA fully realizes that there are more than 160 foods that have been identified to cause food allergies in sensitive individuals, the final act only mandated disclosure of these top eight. While the categories of fish, shellfish and tree nuts represent numerous species and varieties, the actual food allergen name used for disclosure is the name of the species or variety.
Coconut. This need for specificity has led FDA to issue a guidance document that identified 19 nuts, including coconut, which they consider to be a tree nut.