Peanut butter Hs Code

Peanut butter harmonized system code

Product Overview Peanut butter classified under HS Code 200811 is defined as a paste or spread produced predominantly from ground roasted peanuts, with or without added ingredients such as salt, sugar, or vegetable oils. This product exhibits a semi-solid consistency, typically presenting a smooth or crunchy texture, with moisture content generally below 2%. The processing involves roasting, blanching, grinding, and homogenizing peanuts to achieve a stable emulsion that meets food safety and quality standards. Within HS Code 200811, subcategories include natural peanut butter (containing only peanuts), salted variants, and those incorporating sweeteners or stabilizers to enhance shelf life and texture. Commercially, peanut butter serves diverse applications across food service sectors, retail consumer markets, and as an ingredient in confectionery and bakery production. Its value proposition lies in consistent quality, stable shelf life, and versatility as a nutrient-dense protein source, positioning it competitively in both bulk industrial and consumer-packaged goods markets. HS Code Classification & Trade Specifications HS Code 200811 falls under Chapter 20 (Preparations of vegetables, fruit, nuts or other parts of plants), Heading 08 (Peanut butter), with 200811 representing the specific subheading for peanut butter excluding mixes with other nuts or fruits. The classification rationale is based on the product’s composition—ground roasted peanuts processed into a paste form—distinct from other nut pastes or composite spreads. Trade considerations include packaging in metal drums, plastic jars, or laminated pouches, with net weights typically ranging from 250 grams to 25 kilograms to accommodate diverse supply chain requirements. Preservation methods focus on hermetic sealing and refrigeration or ambient storage conditions to maintain product integrity and prevent oxidation. Quality standards comply with Codex Alimentarius guidelines and WTO sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, emphasizing parameters such as aflatoxin levels (not exceeding 15 ppb), microbial limits, and absence of foreign matter. This classification ensures alignment with international customs protocols and facilitates streamlined cross-border documentation and regulatory compliance.

Peanut butter Chapter Note

1.- This Chapter does not cover : (a) Vegetables, fruit or nuts, prepared or preserved by the processes specified in Chapter 7, 8 or 11; (b) Vegetable fats and oils (Chapter 15); (c) Food preparations containing more than 20 % by weight of sausage, meat, meat offal, blood, insects, fish or crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates, or any combination thereof (Chapter 16); (d) Bakers’ wares and other products of heading 19.05; or (e) Homogenised composite food preparations of heading 21.04. 2.- Headings 20.07 and 20.08 do not apply to fruit jellies, fruit pastes, sugar-coated almonds or the like in the form of sugar confectionery (heading 17.04) or chocolate confectionery (heading 18.06). 3.- Headings 20.01, 20.04 and 20.05 cover, as the case may be, only those products of Chapter 7 or of heading 11.05 or 11.06 (other than flour, meal and powder of the products of Chapter 8) which have been prepared or preserved by processes other than those referred to in Note 1 (a). 4.- Tomato juice the dry weight content of which is 7 % or more is to be classified in heading 20.02. 5.- For the purposes of heading 20.07, the expression “obtained by cooking” means obtained by heat treatment at atmospheric pressure or under reduced pressure to increase the viscosity of a product through reduction of water content or other means. 6.- For the purposes of heading 20.09, the expression “juices, unfermented and not containing added spirit” means juices of an alcoholic strength by volume (see Note 2 to Chapter 22) not exceeding 0.5 % vol.