Crustaceans on the menu: where they appear and how to label them

What it covers

Point 2 of Annex II of Regulation (EU) 1169/2011, which still applies in the UK, simply says “Crustaceans and products thereof”. There are no exceptions. Fresh, cooked, frozen and tinned crustaceans all count, and so does everything made with them: stocks, extracts, flavourings, pastes, oils and butters.

The ones you will meet most often in British and American kitchens:

• Prawns and shrimp: king and tiger prawns, North Atlantic prawns, brown shrimp, crevettes.
• Langoustines (scampi), lobster and crayfish.
• Crabs: brown crab, spider crab, soft-shell crab, blue crab.
• Goose barnacles, which surprise a lot of people but are crustaceans too.

Molluscs (mussels, clams, squid, octopus) are a different allergen, number 14. We cover them on the molluscs page.

Where it hides

The scariest cases are not the prawn cocktail but the dishes where the crustacean does not show:

• Shellfish stocks and soups: lobster bisque, seafood risotto, paella, bouillabaisse, chowders, seafood soups and pasta sauces made with shellfish stock.
• Sauces and butters: lobster Thermidor, shellfish sauces for pasta, and oils or butters flavoured with heads and shells.
• Batter and fried food: scampi, popcorn shrimp, prawn tempura, sesame prawn toast, crab cakes, shrimp po’ boys.
• Cold dishes: prawn cocktail, dressed crab, potted shrimps, seafood salads, prawn mayo sandwiches, sushi rolls with crab or prawn.
• Bought-in products: some seafood sticks contain crustacean extract, as do many frozen seafood mixes and shellfish stock cubes and pots.
• Asian cooking: many Thai curry pastes contain shrimp paste, as do some laksa pastes and sambals. Add prawn crackers, dried shrimp, XO sauce and prawn dumplings such as har gow and wontons.

On packaged products, crustaceans are emphasised in the ingredients list. Check it every time you change brand.

Cross-contact in the kitchen and at the bar

With crustaceans, contact usually happens at these points:

• The grill or flat-top where you cook prawns and then, without cleaning it, a piece of fish or meat.
• The fryer oil after scampi or prawn tempura.
• The cooking water from shellfish, if it gets reused.
• The seafood display or raw bar, where ice drips onto other products.
• Hands, tongs and scissors used to peel and serve.

A few simple habits cut the risk a lot: keep one area of the grill or one pan for shellfish, fry battered shellfish in a separate fryer, and prepare the crustacean-free dish first with clean utensils.

If you cannot separate a process, mark the affected dishes “may contain crustaceans”. And remind front-of-house that an allergic guest is not just avoiding the prawns they can see: they need to know what is in the risotto, the sauce and the oil.

Crustaceans, molluscs and sulphites: three different marks

In a seafood restaurant, one dish can need several marks:

• Crustaceans (2) and molluscs (14) always go separately. A seafood paella with prawns, mussels and squid carries both.
• Fish (4), if the stock is made with fish bones or heads.
• Sulphites (12), used as a preservative on many fresh and frozen prawns to stop black spots. If the label declares them, mark them. There is more detail on the sulphites page.

Sea urchin is neither a crustacean nor a mollusc, so it falls under neither allergen. It is often handled on the same trays as shellfish, though, so judge whether there is a real risk of traces.

In the US

Crustacean shellfish (crab, lobster, shrimp) is one of the FDA’s nine major food allergens, and packaged food labels must name the species, such as “shrimp”, not just “shellfish”. Molluscs are not a major allergen in the US, so a US “Contains” statement will not mention clams or oysters, even though they still appear in the ingredient list. Another good reason to keep the two apart on your menu.

How to mark it on your menu

Crustaceans are number 2 in Annex II. Mark the allergen on every dish that contains it, including those where it is only in the stock or the sauce. Do not lump it under a vague “shellfish” or “seafood”: in English “shellfish” covers both crustaceans and molluscs, and the guest needs to tell them apart.

If you give allergen information verbally, the UK Food Information Regulations require a notice, menu note or label telling customers they can ask staff for it, and the FSA says written information backed up by a conversation works best. Staff should answer from records, not from memory.

With MenuDesign you mark allergen 2 on each dish and choose whether it shows as an icon, number or name; the key and the allergen matrix come from the same data. To review where to place the icons, read the guide to adding allergens to your menu.