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Which fish and shellfish names are on the most food labels?

Salmon, tuna and anchovy lead the fish names in Open Food Facts, shrimp the crustaceans and mussel the molluscs. Who must declare which.

By Bravoora teamPublished 17 October 2026Sources checked 13 October 20267 min read

Fish names lead; shrimp leads the shellfish. US labels declare crustaceans but not molluscs. Data: Open Food Facts (ODbL), read 13 October 2026.

Key takeaways

Open Food Facts finds fish in 33,678 products, a crustacean in 9,406 and a mollusc in 5,969.
The fish names on the most products are salmon (6,855), tuna (5,953), anchovy (4,242) and cod (2,915).
Anchovy is on 4,242 products, most often in dressings and sauces: dressings such as Caesar are where fish hides.
The US declares crustacean shellfish but not molluscs, so clam, oyster and squid need no “Contains” line on a US pack; EU and UK labels must declare them.
Ten E-numbers, all flavour enhancers, can be made from fish.

The short answer

Salmon is the fish named on the most products in Open Food Facts (6,855), then tuna (5,953) and anchovy (4,242). Among shellfish, shrimp leads the crustaceans (6,210) and mussel the molluscs (1,206). EU and UK labels must declare all three groups; US labels declare fish and crustaceans, not molluscs.

How many products contain fish or shellfish?

Open Food Facts finds fish in 33,678 products, a crustacean in 9,406 and a mollusc in 5,969^[1]. A product counts once in each group, whichever name it prints.

Bravoora’s dictionary has 111 fish names^[2], 24 crustacean names^[3] and 34 mollusc names^[4], each with its own page. Its shellfish guide explains the two shellfish groups^[5].

Which fish names are on the most products?

Salmon, tuna and anchovy^[1]. The table counts one row a name: a kind of a listed fish, such as Atlantic salmon under salmon, is counted with it.

The ten fish names on the most products in Open Food Facts (read 13 October 2026)
Fish	Products	Of them sold in the US	Most often in
Salmon	6,855	1,122	Oily fish
Tuna	5,953	641	Oily fish
Anchovy	4,242	1,948	Dressings and sauces
Cod	2,915	316	Fish and seafood
Sardine	2,468	503	Oily fish
Alaska pollock	2,151	428	Fish and seafood
Mackerel	1,552	149	Oily fish
Fish sauce	1,242	302	Ready meals
Herring	1,017	127	Oily fish
Fish meat	815	19	Fish and seafood

Which shellfish names are on the most products?

Shrimp among the crustaceans (6,210 products) and mussel among the molluscs (1,206)^[1]. Shellfish is two groups on a label: crustaceans, such as shrimp, crab and lobster, and molluscs, such as mussels, squid and oysters^[5].

The five crustaceans and five molluscs on the most products in Open Food Facts (read 13 October 2026)
Name	Group	Products	Of them sold in the US
Shrimp	Crustacean	6,210	2,409
Lobster	Crustacean	828	338
Crab	Crustacean	826	327
Crayfish	Crustacean	124	not among its top countries
Mussel	Mollusc	1,206	125
Squid	Mollusc	1,010	135
Scallop	Mollusc	932	156
Oyster	Mollusc	610	320
Clam	Mollusc	482	361

Why do US labels declare crustaceans but not molluscs?

Because the US list of major allergens names crustacean shellfish, and molluscs are not on it^[6]. The EU and UK list both groups, and so does the Gulf list^[5]^[7].

The difference reaches real US packs. Of the 482 products that list clam, 361 are sold in the US (75%); of the 610 that list oyster, 320 (52%)^[1]. On those packs the name is in the ingredient list, and no “Contains” line has to repeat it.

For the groups it does declare, US law asks for the species: a fish or a crustacean is named by its type, such as cod or shrimp, not just “fish”^[8].

Fish and shellfish on the allergen lists (from Bravoora’s shellfish and fish guides)
Group	EU and UK	United States	Gulf (GSO 9)
Fish	Yes	Yes	Yes
Crustaceans	Yes	Yes: as “crustacean shellfish”	Yes
Molluscs	Yes	No	Yes

Where does fish hide on a label?

In sauces and dressings. Anchovy is on 4,242 products, most often in dressings and sauces (1,092)^[1]: Worcestershire sauce and Caesar dressing are usually made with it^[9]. Worcestershire sauce itself is on 2,101 products, 1,695 of them sold in the US.

Fish sauce is on 1,242 products and surimi, sold as crab sticks and made from fish, on 701^[1]^[9].

Fish can also be the source of an additive: ten E-numbers, the flavour enhancers E626 to E635, can be made from fish, and when one is, the label must name fish^[10].

How often do packs warn of fish or shellfish?

Open Food Facts’ allergens field names fish on 19,614 product records, crustaceans on 6,588 and molluscs on 3,801^[1].
Its “may contain” field names fish on 17,967, crustaceans on 15,606 and molluscs on 12,124: molluscs appear in a warning 3.2 times as often as in a recipe^[1].
Clam is the mollusc most tied to the US: 75% of its products are sold there, against 19% of all mollusc products^[1].

Method: product counts from the Open Food Facts export, read on 13 October 2026^[1]; names and groups from Bravoora’s dictionary^[2]^[3]^[4]. One row a name: a kind of a listed name (Atlantic salmon, skipjack tuna) is counted with it. A product counts under a name when its list names it or a more specific kind of it, in any language. Contains information from Open Food Facts, which is made available here under the Open Database License (ODbL)^[11].

Which words on a label mean fish or shellfish?

Salmon, tuna, anchovy, cod, sardine and Alaska pollock: fish, named by species.
Anchovy, Worcestershire sauce, Caesar dressing, fish sauce, surimi: fish in a sauce, a dressing or a stick.
Shrimp, lobster, crab, crayfish and prawns: crustaceans.
Mussel, squid, scallop, oyster, clam, octopus and calamari: molluscs.
Oyster sauce: a mollusc, in a sauce^[5].
E626 to E635: flavour enhancers that can be made from fish^[10].

How do you check a label for fish and shellfish in 30 seconds?

Read the emphasised words (EU, UK) or the “Contains” line (US), then the whole ingredient list.
Look for species names: salmon, tuna, anchovy, cod; shrimp, crab, lobster; mussel, squid, oyster, clam.
Read the sauces and dressings: Worcestershire, Caesar, fish sauce and oyster sauce.
On a US pack, read the list for molluscs yourself: no “Contains” line will name them.
Paste the list into the label checker to catch a name you missed.

How does Bravoora check a label for fish and shellfish?

Bravoora reads the fish, crustacean and mollusc names in the ingredient list and in the “may contain” line, every name in the two tables among them, and shows the printed word with its meaning: “anchovy = fish”, “squid = mollusc”. For Marco, whose profile avoids shellfish, a mollusc on a US pack gives “Not for Marco” even with no “Contains” line, because the answer reads the list, not just the summary. The methodology shows how it is tested.

Let Bravoora read the label with you.

Tell it once what matters: your allergens, your diet, the ingredients you watch. Every answer then shows the words it is based on.

Build my profile

Scope and limits

This article counts fish and shellfish names in Open Food Facts, a database its contributors fill in from real packs: it covers the products in it, not every product on sale, and a count is not a market share.

Rules covered: the EU and UK allergen list, the US major allergens and the Gulf list, as Bravoora’s guides set them out. Sources were checked on the dates listed below.

This is general label information, not medical advice. With a diagnosed fish or shellfish allergy, follow your clinician’s plan.

Frequently asked questions

Is squid a shellfish?

Squid is a mollusc. EU and UK labels must declare molluscs; US labels do not, because molluscs are not among the US major allergens.

Does Worcestershire sauce contain fish?

Usually. Worcestershire sauce is usually made with anchovy, so expect fish in the list. Open Food Facts lists it on 2,101 products, 1,695 of them sold in the US.

Are crustaceans and molluscs the same allergen?

No. Labels treat them as two groups: crustaceans such as shrimp, crab and lobster, and molluscs such as mussels, squid and oysters. The EU and UK declare both; the US declares crustaceans only.

Why does a US label name the fish species?

Because US rules ask for the type of fish or crustacean, such as cod or shrimp, not just the word fish. EU and UK labels name the species too, in the ingredient list.