Shellfish in the European Union: label rules and introduction guidance

Is shellfish on the EU's list of 14 allergens?

Annex II has 'crustaceans and products thereof' as item 2 and 'molluscs and products thereof' as item 14. Neither entry has exemptions. Because they are separate allergens, a product with prawns and mussels emphasises both, and a parent avoiding one group can check for it on its own. This is a sharp contrast with the US, where molluscs are not a major food allergen at all, and it matches the approach in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and Canada, all of which cover molluscs.

Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers lists 14 substances or products in Annex II. Article 21 requires each one to be emphasised in the list of ingredients through a typeset that clearly distinguishes it, for example by font, style or background colour. Where a food has no ingredient list, the label uses the word 'contains' followed by the allergen's name.

• EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex II (consolidated text)

What EFSA guidance says about introducing shellfish

EFSA's 2019 opinion does not name crustaceans or molluscs. Its evaluation focused on egg, cereals, fish, soy and peanut, and its general conclusion is that allergenic foods can be introduced when other complementary foods are introduced. For shellfish, that leaves practical detail such as timing and preparation to national health authorities and your paediatrician. Sources were thin here: we found no EU-level infant guidance written for shellfish specifically, so this page sticks to what the regulation and EFSA's general conclusion say.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reviewed about 300 scientific publications for its 2019 opinion on when complementary foods can be introduced. EFSA's opinion is scientific advice to EU risk managers; recommendations to the public are issued by the health authorities of each Member State, so the plan your paediatrician follows may come from a national guideline.

• EFSA: Appropriate age range for introduction of complementary feeding into an infant's diet (2019)
• EFSA: Age to start complementary feeding of infants (plain-language summary)

Logging shellfish in the app

Set your region to the European Union and the app's allergen schedule follows the 14 Annex II allergens. In the schedule, shellfish appears as Crustaceans and Molluscs, two separate entries. Each allergen entry moves from not started to introduced, cleared or reaction, and the 14-day window keeps new foods spaced out so a delayed reaction is easier to match to a food. Log prawn, crab or mussel by name, because crustaceans and molluscs are different allergen groups in most countries. If you see a symptom, log it with its severity; the paediatrician report gathers the dates into one PDF for your next appointment. It is a record for you and your doctor, not a diagnosis.