On January 17, 2017 the European Union issued the Commission Recommendation 2017/84 of 16 January 2017 on the monitoring of mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOH) in food and in materials and articles intended to come into contact with food.Member States are asked to monitor the presence of MOH in food during 2017 and 2018 with the help of business operators, manufacturers, processors and distributors in order to better understand the relative presence of these mineral oils in food commodities. Tree nuts as well as the contact material used for them are included among the products covered by the recommendation.MOH are chemical compounds derived mainly from crude oil, but also produced synthetically from coal, natural gas and biomass. They can be present in food through environmental contamination, lubricants for machinery used during harvesting and food production, processing aids, food additives and food contact materials.In 2012, the European Food Safety Authority concluded that some MOH may act as genotoxic carcinogens while some others may accumulate in human tissue and may cause adverse effects in the liver.Commission Recommendation 2017/84 of 16 January 2017