When the allergen statement needs a species name

Three of the nine major allergens are categories rather than single foods, and for those three the law asks for the specific one. Writing “Contains: Fish” on a product made with anchovy is not a complete declaration.

The three that need a species name

• Fish: name the species. Bass, cod, anchovy, salmon, tuna.
• Crustacean shellfish: name the species. Crab, lobster, shrimp.
• Tree nuts: name the nut. Almond, walnut, pecan, cashew, pistachio.

The other six, milk, egg, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame, are declared by that name, with one refinement: FDA asks that milk from an animal other than a cow and eggs from a bird other than a chicken name the source, as in “Contains goat milk” or “Contains duck egg” (allergen Q&A, Edition 5, C.2 and C.4).

More than one species in the same product

List every one, each standing on its own. 21 U.S.C. 343(w)(2) makes the required name the specific nut or species, and FDA states that a Contains statement “cannot broadly declare ‘tree nuts,’ ‘fish,’ or ‘Crustacean shellfish’”, so the category name does not lead:

• Contains: Anchovy, Cod, Almonds, Pecans, Milk.

If a product contains several fish species that genuinely vary batch to batch, such as a mixed seafood stock, declaring the full set that could be present is the defensible answer. A rotating “or” list leaves a buyer unable to tell what is in the jar in front of them.

Where the declaration can live

There are two compliant approaches, and you may use either or both:

• A Contains statement immediately after or adjacent to the ingredient list. If you use one, it must name every major allergen in the product, not a subset.
• In-line in the ingredient list, with the food source in parentheses after the ingredient, for example “Semolina (Wheat)”. A compound ingredient such as Worcestershire sauce must list its own sub-ingredients in parentheses (21 CFR 101.4(b)(2)), and the anchovy is declared there by name: “Worcestershire Sauce (Vinegar, Molasses, Sugar, Water, Salt, Anchovies, Tamarind, Spices)”.

Mixing the two, declaring some allergens in the list and others in a Contains statement that omits them, is the failure mode that generates recalls.

Cases that catch people out

• Peanuts are not tree nuts. They are legumes and their own separate allergen. A product with both declares “Contains: Peanuts, Cashews”.
• Coconut is no longer a tree nut here. FDA's allergen Q&A, Edition 5 (January 2025), lists the tree nuts it treats as major food allergens in its Table 1, and coconut, chestnut, pili nut and beechnut are not on it. Q&A C.8 says nuts not in that table “should not be included in the ‘Contains’ statement”. Coconut still appears in the ingredient list by its common name; a separate voluntary note is allowed.
• Molluscs are not covered. Only crustacean shellfish is a major allergen. Clams, mussels, oysters and squid are not, though declaring them is good practice.
• Anchovy arrives uninvited. Worcestershire sauce, Caesar dressing, some fish sauces and several umami bases all carry it, and all of them make your product a fish product.
• Sesame since 2023. The FASTER Act made sesame the ninth major allergen from January 2023. Recipes written before then may not declare it.
• Highly refined oils are exempt from the declaration, meaning oils that have been refined, bleached and deodorized. An oil that is not highly refined, such as cold-pressed or toasted sesame oil, is declared by its name in the ingredient list or in the Contains line (FDA allergen Q&A, Edition 5, D.9).

Advisory statements are not a substitute

“May contain” and “made in a facility with” are voluntary statements about cross contact. They are not a replacement for declaring an allergen you deliberately put in the product, and they carry no legal protection if you use them that way.