Guide
Allergens in Thai curry paste
Most red, green and Panang curry pastes contain shrimp paste, which is crustaceans, and often fish sauce. A vegetarian paste is a different product. Do not label a standard paste as free of fish and shellfish.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The usual pattern
The paste is chilli, lemongrass, garlic, galangal, shrimp paste and sometimes fish sauce or soya. Coconut milk added later is not an Annex II allergen. The paste is where the allergens sit.
What to check in Thai curry paste
| What you see | What it means on a PPDS label |
|---|---|
| Shrimp paste | Crustaceans |
| Fish sauce | Fish |
| Some pastes | Soya |
| Vegetarian pastes | No shrimp or fish only if the spec says so |
How to write it on the label
PPDS food needs the name of the food and a full ingredients list, with the 14 allergens emphasised every time they appear. The Food Standards Agency’s PPDS guidance is the practical reference. A typical ingredients fragment looks like this — yours must follow the specification of the product you actually use.
Example fragment
Chilli, lemongrass, garlic, shallot, shrimp paste (crustaceans), salt, galangal.
Where it shows up
Curry pots, marinades, noodle soups and meal-prep trays.
One paste for the vegan curry and the prawn curry
If both pans start with the same shrimp paste, the vegan tray is not vegetarian and contains crustaceans.
Massaman pastes often add peanuts as well. That is a third allergen on top of shrimp and fish.
Specification first
Brands differ. Treat this page as the usual pattern, then match the label to the tub, bag or recipe in front of you.
Questions
Does green curry paste contain shellfish?
Is lemongrass an allergen?
Official sources
Everything on this page traces back to these. Where they and we disagree, they are right — tell us and we'll fix it.
- Introduction to allergen labelling for PPDS foodFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Labelling guidance for prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food productsFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Food allergen labelling and information requirements technical guidanceFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK