Makrut Lime for Food Buyers: Names, Forms and Labels

Put Citrus hystrix on the specification for makrut lime, because every official text in this guide that gives the plant a botanical name gives that one. Beside it the texts print the English name Kaffir lime, with varying capitals, and local names such as jeruk purut, มะกรูด and Limau Purut. The word lime on its own points elsewhere: lime entries in Malaysian, Indonesian and Thai standards and in a Philippine food composition table name Citrus aurantifolia, Citrus aurantiifolia or Citrus latifolia. BPOM, Australia's Schedule 22 and 40 CFR 180.41 name the leaf, and the NParks record describes it. This guide covers the names, the look-alike names, the forms the texts describe, how labels and classification lists name them, and what to ask a supplier.

Which Botanical Name Do Official Texts Give for Makrut Lime?

Indonesia. BPOM Regulation 13 of 2023 on food categories has an entry headed "Daun Jeruk Purut (Kaffir lime)", which defines daun jeruk purut as a herb product obtained from the leaves of the plant Citrus hystrix (our translation). It gives no author for the name.

Thailand. The TISI open-data list of Thai community product standards (dataset metadata modified 19 September 2025) gives standard 889/2548 the Thai title น้ำกลั่นมะกรูด and the English title "DISTILLED KAFFIR LIME (CITRUS HYSTRIX DC.)". The botanical name appears only in that English title; the standard's own PDF does not print it.

Singapore. The National Parks Board (NParks) Flora & Fauna Web record, last updated 13 December 2022, names the plant Citrus hystrix DC., family Rutaceae, and gives its local conservation status as "Non-native (Horticultural / Cultivated Only)".

United States. In the crop group tables of 40 CFR 180.41, an Environmental Protection Agency regulation, Crop Group 26, the Spice Group, has the row "Kaffir lime, leaf, Citrus hystrix DC." (eCFR as of 7 October 2026).

Australia. Schedule 22 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (compilation No. 5, in force on 30 April 2026) lists "Kaffir lime leaves" without a botanical name.

Other Latin names. A 2002 paper in Gardens' Bulletin Singapore by D. J. Mabberley says that limau purut (Citrus hystrix DC) "appears to be a selected form of the wild limau hantu (C. macroptera Montr., i.e. C. auraria Michel)", and that its earliest scientific name "may be C. fusca Lour." The paper presents its synonymy as "a provisional arrangement". If a certificate or specification gives Citrus macroptera, Citrus fusca or any Latin name other than Citrus hystrix, ask the supplier to confirm which plant was supplied.

Which Names Do the Texts Print Beside the Botanical Name?

English. The texts print the English name in five forms: "Kaffir lime" (BPOM), "Kaffir Lime" (NParks), "KAFFIR LIME" (the TISI list), "Kaffir lime leaves" (Schedule 22) and "Kaffir lime, leaf" (40 CFR 180.41). None of the texts in this guide prints "makrut", so when you search certificates, standards or residue tables for this plant, search for kaffir and for Citrus hystrix as well.

Indonesian. BPOM uses daun jeruk purut for the leaf, both in the entry above and in its list of examples of herbs in category 12.2.1, "Herba dan Rempah" (herbs and spices, our translation).

Thai. In the TISI list, the Thai title น้ำกลั่นมะกรูด sits beside "KAFFIR LIME" in the English title for 889/2548, and the standard's label clause gives น้ำกลั่นมะกรูด and น้ำกลั่นสมุนไพรมะกรูด as examples of product names (our translation).

Singapore. The NParks record lists the common names "Limau Purut, 箭叶橙, Kaffir Lime". It does not say which language each name belongs to.

Malaysia. The Mabberley paper says that the wild plant Citrus macroptera "is found throughout Malesia, and in Peninsular Malaysia it is known as limau hantu", and concludes that "the cultivated plants called limau purut appear to be merely selected forms (cultivars) of limau hantu". A document that says limau hantu may therefore refer to the wild plant rather than to the cultivated limau purut.

Which Names Can Point to a Different Plant?

Two kinds of name in these texts also appear with plants other than Citrus hystrix.

• Lime. Malaysia's Food Regulations 1985 (English text updated until August 2026) say in regulation 239 that "Lime juice shall be the fruit juice of mature lime of the species Citrus aurantifolia or of hybrids of that species"; the Malay text titles the same regulation "Jus limau". BPOM Regulation 13 of 2023 has an entry headed "Sari Jeruk Nipis (Lime Juice)", which defines a fruit juice from ripe jeruk nipis of the species Citrus aurantifolia or its derived varieties (our translation). Thailand's voluntary standard TAS 27-2017, titled มะนาว in Thai and "LIME" in its English version marked "UNOFFICAL TRANSLATION", names Citrus aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle and Citrus latifolia (Yu. Tanaka) Tanaka and their hybrids in its scope. The Philippine Food Composition Table (release 1 December 2019) lists "Lime peel" with the scientific name Citrus aurantiifolia and the alternate names "Dayap, balat". Schedule 22 lists "Limes" in the subgroup "Lemons and Limes" under citrus fruits, separately from "Kaffir lime leaves" under herbs.
• Kaffir. 40 CFR 180.41 also lists "Kaffir-plum (Harpephyllum caffrum Bernh. Ex C. Krauss)" in Crop Group 23, "Tropical and Subtropical Fruit, Edible Peel Group".

A document that says only lime, limau, jeruk nipis or kaffir may therefore not identify makrut lime, so ask for Citrus hystrix by name.

Which Parts and Forms Do the Texts Describe?

The leaf is the part named most often:

• BPOM defines daun jeruk purut as obtained from the leaves (our translation). Its herb category, 12.2.1, says herbs may be whole, sliced, powder or paste, fresh or dried, single or mixed, with or without other food ingredients (our translation). That form list belongs to the category as a whole, not to the makrut entry alone.
• Schedule 22 places "Kaffir lime leaves" in the subgroup "Leaves of woody plants (leaves of shrubs and trees)", and gives "The whole commodity" as the portion for herbs. Its section on secondary commodities refers dried herbs back to the herb groupings.
• 40 CFR 180.41 names the leaf in its Crop Group 26 row.
• The NParks record describes the leaves as "oblong, but pinched in the middle so that 1 leaf looks like 2 ovate leaves fused together".

TISI 889/2548 gives the fruit-product example used here. The TISI list gives it the English title "DISTILLED KAFFIR LIME (CITRUS HYSTRIX DC.)", and clause 1.1 of the standard specifies a ready-to-drink form with the fruit of มะกรูด, ผลมะกรูด, as the main component (our translation). The TISI list places it in the product group เครื่องดื่ม, beverages (our translation), with the list announcement date 20 May 2005. This guide does not cover how the product is made.

None of the standards or regulations in this guide defines or classifies a juice, peel, rind or frozen form of Citrus hystrix. The lime juice and lime peel entries above name other species.

How Do Label Rules and Classification Lists Name Makrut Lime?

Thailand. TISI 889/2548 says that every container must at least show the product name, such as น้ำกลั่นมะกรูด or น้ำกลั่นสมุนไพรมะกรูด, and the important ingredients (our translation). Where a foreign language is used, it must have the same meaning as the Thai (our translation).

Indonesia. BPOM Regulation 13 of 2023 applies to anyone who produces and/or imports processed food for trade in retail packaging, who must meet its food category requirements (our translation). Under Pasal 7(1), raw materials that may be used in processed food include those listed in Lampiran I (our translation), and the daun jeruk purut entry sits in category 12.2.1 of Lampiran I. Under Pasal 8(1), plant or animal raw materials other than those listed in Lampiran I and Lampiran II may be used only after written approval from the Head of BPOM, based on an assessment of food safety, quality and nutrition (our translation).

Australia. Schedule 22 is not a label rule. It describes foods and classes of foods for listed provisions of the Code, and its note on portions explains that a permitted residue is calculated on the portion of the commodity it specifies. Under it, "Kaffir lime leaves" are herbs, not "Limes".

United States. 40 CFR 180.41 is not a label rule either. Its paragraph (a) says the tables are "to be used in conjunction with § 180.40 to establish crop group tolerances", and the makrut leaf entry is "Kaffir lime, leaf" in Crop Group 26.

What Should You Ask a Makrut Lime Supplier?

• Botanical name. Ask for Citrus hystrix on the specification and on each lot's certificate of analysis, not only kaffir lime, jeruk purut, มะกรูด or limau purut. Where an author is given, the NParks record, the TISI list and 40 CFR 180.41 print it as "DC.".
• Look-alike names. If a document says only lime, limau, jeruk nipis, dayap or kaffir, ask which species is supplied. These texts give Citrus aurantifolia, Citrus aurantiifolia, Citrus latifolia and Harpephyllum caffrum to entries with those names.
• Part. Ask whether you are buying leaf or fruit. The texts in this guide name both.
• Form. For leaf, ask whether it is whole, sliced, powder or paste, and fresh or dried, the forms BPOM gives for its herb category (our translation).
• Thai products. For a product made to TISI 889/2548, ask for the standard number and year, and check that the label shows the product name and the important ingredients, two of the details its clause 6.1 requires (our translation).
• Indonesia. For processed food sold in retail packs in Indonesia, ask which BPOM food category the supplier has used; category 12.2.1 defines daun jeruk purut as a herb product obtained from the leaves of Citrus hystrix (our translation).
• Residue classification. For leaves sold into Australia or the United States, ask which entry the supplier's residue compliance refers to: "Kaffir lime leaves" in Schedule 22 or "Kaffir lime, leaf" in Crop Group 26 of 40 CFR 180.41.

Does Indonesia Define Jeruk Purut Leaves in Food Law?

Yes. BPOM Regulation 13 of 2023 has an entry headed "Daun Jeruk Purut (Kaffir lime)" in category 12.2.1, defining daun jeruk purut as a herb product obtained from the leaves of the plant Citrus hystrix (our translation).

Does Malaysia's Lime Juice Standard Name Makrut Lime?

No. It does not name Citrus hystrix. Regulation 239 of Malaysia's Food Regulations 1985 (English text updated until August 2026) defines lime juice as the fruit juice of mature lime of the species Citrus aurantifolia or of hybrids of that species.

Where Does Australia's Schedule 22 Classify Kaffir Lime Leaves?

As herbs. Schedule 22 of the Food Standards Code (compilation No. 5, in force on 30 April 2026) lists "Kaffir lime leaves" in the subgroup "Leaves of woody plants (leaves of shrubs and trees)", not among the citrus fruits.

Where Does TISI Print the Botanical Name?

In the TISI list's English title for standard 889/2548; the standard's PDF does not print it. The list (dataset metadata modified 19 September 2025) gives the standard the English title "DISTILLED KAFFIR LIME (CITRUS HYSTRIX DC.)" and the Thai title น้ำกลั่นมะกรูด.