The Top 9 Food Allergens

Nine foods account for 90 percent of all food allergy reactions:

• Peanuts
• Tree nuts (cashews, pecans, walnuts, etc.)
• Milk
• Egg
• Wheat
• Soy
• Fish (halibut, salmon, etc.)
• Shellfish (crab, lobster, shrimp, etc.)
• Sesame

While more than 170 foods can cause allergic reactions in people with food allergies, the law identifies the nine most common allergenic foods. 

Sesame is recognized as the ninth major allergen, effective January 1, 2023, and must be labeled in plain language on packaged foods in the U.S.