The top 8 allergens, why the US list is now 9, and how it compares with the EU's 14
By the Menulta editorial team · Facts checked 15 October 2026 · Updated 15 October 2026
The short answer
The top 8 allergens are the eight foods US law named as major food allergens in 2004: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans. Sesame was added as the ninth from 1 January 2023, so the current US list is the top 9. The EU and UK use a longer list of 14 allergens. It contains all nine US allergens and adds celery, mustard, lupin, molluscs and sulphites. It also widens wheat to every cereal that contains gluten.
The eight major food allergens
The list comes from the US Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA). The eight foods were chosen because they caused the large majority of serious allergic reactions to food in the US at the time. That is why American guests, menus and websites still say "the big 8" or "top 8".
- Milk, from cows and, under the FDA's 2025 guidance, from other animals such as goats and sheep
- Eggs, including eggs from ducks, quail and other birds
- Fish, such as cod, tuna, salmon and anchovy
- Crustacean shellfish: prawns, shrimp, crab, lobster and crayfish
- Tree nuts: almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts and others
- Peanuts
- Wheat
- Soybeans
Why the top 8 became the top 9
The FASTER Act of 2021 added sesame as the ninth major food allergen in the US. It took effect on 1 January 2023. Many recipe sites, menu templates and even training materials still say "top 8", so the two numbers are often used for the same list. If you see "top 8" today, read it as "top 9 minus sesame" and treat sesame as a major allergen anyway.
One side effect is worth knowing. Some US manufacturers chose to add sesame on purpose and label it, rather than prove their production lines were sesame-free. So a sesame-allergic guest may react to a US-made bread or bun that looked plain.
How the US list compares with the EU's 14 allergens
In the EU, Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 lists 14 substances that must be declared. The UK kept the same list after Brexit. A menu built for the EU 14 therefore covers almost every allergen a US guest asks about. The differences are mostly in how widely each entry is drawn.
| Allergen | US (FALCPA + FASTER Act) | EU / UK (Regulation 1169/2011, Annex II) |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | Yes | Yes, including lactose |
| Eggs | Yes | Yes |
| Fish | Yes | Yes |
| Crustaceans | Yes, as 'crustacean shellfish' | Yes |
| Molluscs (mussels, squid, octopus, clams) | No | Yes |
| Tree nuts | Yes, broad list of species | Yes, eight named nuts |
| Peanuts | Yes | Yes |
| Wheat | Yes, wheat only | Covered by 'cereals containing gluten' |
| Cereals containing gluten (rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut) | No | Yes |
| Soybeans | Yes | Yes |
| Sesame | Yes, since 1 January 2023 | Yes |
| Celery | No | Yes |
| Mustard | No | Yes |
| Lupin | No | Yes |
| Sulphites above 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre | Labelled under separate rules | Yes |
Where the two lists genuinely disagree
Gluten is the biggest difference. The US list names wheat as an allergen. The EU names cereals containing gluten, so barley in a stock, rye in a bread or oats in a crumble must all be declared in Europe. A dish can be wheat-free and still not be safe for a guest with coeliac disease.
Nuts are drawn differently. The EU names eight nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios and macadamia (Queensland) nuts. The FDA keeps its own, broader list of tree nut species. A guest with a nut allergy may ask about a nut that is not on the EU list, such as a pine nut in pesto. Answer from your recipe, not from the list.
Molluscs, celery, mustard, lupin and sulphites must be declared in the EU but are not US major allergens. American guests rarely ask about celery or lupin, but a European guest may react to them. In Mediterranean cooking these hide in common places: soffritto, stock and minestra contain celery, wine reductions contain sulphites, and squid or octopus are molluscs.
What this means for a restaurant serving international guests
If you operate in the EU or the UK, declare the 14. That single record answers a US guest's "top 8" or "top 9" question as well, because every US major allergen sits inside the EU list. The gaps are the cases above, where a guest asks about a specific ingredient rather than a category.
Write the allergen record per dish, not per menu, and let it travel with the dish into every language you serve. A tourist reading in their own language can then check sesame, gluten or a particular nut before ordering, without waiting for a busy waiter to check with the kitchen.
- Use the EU 14 as your base record for every dish.
- Name the gluten cereal, for example 'barley (gluten)', so a guest who has been told to avoid only wheat can see what is in the dish.
- Name the nut, for example 'pistachio', rather than just 'nuts'.
- Mark sesame clearly in breads, dressings, tahini and dukkah. US visitors now expect it.
- Keep 'may contain' warnings for real cross-contact risks, such as a shared fryer, not as blanket cover.
Sources
- US FDA: Food Allergies, including the major food allergens and the FASTER Act
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex II (EUR-Lex)
- UK Food Standards Agency: Allergen guidance for food businesses
This guide is general information, not medical or legal advice. Guests with an allergy should follow their doctor's advice. Operators should confirm their own setup with their food safety adviser or local authority.