Brazil Nuts Aflatoxin, Grade and Trade Evidence

Editorial evidence reviewedReviewed 2026-09-13Release 2026-09-19-batch-230

Market value

$345.6M

Producing countries tracked

8

Grading systems

1

Active supply risks

5

Trade corridors

5

Latest reviewed evidence

Codex CXS 193-1995 sets total-aflatoxin maximum levels of 10 micrograms per kilogram for shelled Brazil nuts ready to eat and 15 micrograms per kilogram for shelled nuts intended for further processing, with a 20-kilogram aggregate laboratory sample in the referenced tree-nut sampling plan. UNECE DDP-27 sets a 4.5 percent moisture ceiling for Brazil-nut kernels and optional count-based sizes, including 176–242 kernels per kilogram for Large or Giants and 396–484 for Tiny. These are food-safety, sampling and commercial-quality reference requirements, not test results for an untested lot, current supply or price.

Codex ready-to-eat shelled Brazil-nut total-aflatoxin ceiling

10

micrograms per kilogram, maximum · Codex CXS 193-1995, 2025 edition

Codex further-processing shelled Brazil-nut total-aflatoxin ceiling

15

micrograms per kilogram, maximum · Codex CXS 193-1995, 2025 edition

Codex Brazil-nut aflatoxin aggregate sample size

20

kilograms of shelled nuts · Codex CXS 193-1995 Annex IV, 2025 edition

UNECE Brazil-nut-kernel moisture ceiling

4.5

percent, maximum · UNECE DDP-27, November 2013

UNECE Large or Giants kernel-count range

176

kernels per kilogram, lower bound; upper bound 242 · UNECE DDP-27, November 2013

UNECE Tiny kernel-count range

396

kernels per kilogram, lower bound; upper bound 484 · UNECE DDP-27, November 2013

IBGE Brazil-nut extraction quantity

38169

metric tonnes · 2022

IBGE Brazil-nut extraction quantity

35351

metric tonnes · 2023

In-shell nuts and kernels are different commercial products

Kew accepts Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl. and records its native range across northern and west-central Brazil and other parts of tropical South America. UNECE maintains separate standards for in-shell Brazil nuts and Brazil-nut kernels. Shelling changes the traded portion, moisture control, visual inspection, sizing, sampling and processing evidence, so Atlas never converts an in-shell observation into a kernel price or specification without a documented recovery basis.

Ready-to-eat and further-processing lots have different aflatoxin limits

Codex sets a 10-microgram-per-kilogram total-aflatoxin maximum for shelled Brazil nuts ready to eat and 15 micrograms per kilogram for shelled nuts intended for further processing. The higher limit is not a general allowance: Codex defines further processing as an additional treatment proven to reduce aflatoxins before consumption or use in food. Atlas therefore retains the declared disposition and actual process rather than treating the two categories as interchangeable.

Aflatoxin evidence begins with the sampling plan

A laboratory number cannot be detached from how the lot was sampled and prepared. Codex Annex IV uses a 20-kilogram aggregate sample for the tree-nut plan and specifies shelled Brazil nuts, fine grinding and thorough mixing, with slurry preparation preferred for Brazil nuts. Atlas records lot and sublot identity, incremental and aggregate sample design, laboratory sample mass, preparation, analytical method, detection and quantification limits, result, laboratory and test date before assessing a claim.

Moisture, size and extraction totals do not establish a delivered price

UNECE's 4.5-percent kernel-moisture ceiling and optional count sizes describe commercial quality, not a live lot result. IBGE's 38,169-tonne 2022 and 35,351-tonne 2023 figures describe Brazil's dated wild-extraction quantity, not shelled exportable yield, grade, available inventory or destination value. A delivered estimate still needs current permitted observations for the exact in-shell or kernel product, disposition, grade, aflatoxin and quality evidence, package and quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window, freight and information vintage. Atlas withholds a physical estimate when those observations or usage rights are missing.

Questions procurement teams ask

Do in-shell Brazil nuts and kernels use the same trade specification?

No. UNECE maintains separate standards for in-shell nuts and kernels. The form changes moisture, defects, sizing, edible recovery, sampling and value, so observations cannot be merged without a documented conversion basis.

Why does Codex show both 10 and 15 micrograms per kilogram for aflatoxins?

Ten applies to shelled Brazil nuts ready to eat. Fifteen applies to shelled nuts intended for a further process proven to reduce aflatoxins before consumption. The lot's real disposition and process must be documented.

Does one aflatoxin certificate represent the whole lot?

Only when the certificate is linked to a suitable lot-specific sampling and preparation plan. Aflatoxins can be unevenly distributed, so Atlas retains the sublot, aggregate sample, laboratory mass, preparation, method and test date with the result.

Which fields make Brazil-nut offers comparable?

Species, collection and processing origins, crop and packing dates, in-shell or kernel form, whole or broken style, size count, ready-to-eat or further-processing disposition, moisture, aflatoxin result and sampling plan, defects, rancidity, mould, pest, foreign-matter, microbiological and pesticide evidence, package and lot, quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window and evidence date.