Anchovy

Animal and lab studies only

• Benefit

  How the body uses selenium¹⁰

  In lab studies, selenium from anchovy extract helped cells make a selenium-containing protein.

• Benefit

  Iron absorption from food¹¹

  In animal studies, anchovy helped anemic rats rebuild hemoglobin, and its peptides, phospholipids and chondroitin sulfate aided iron absorption.

Found in some samples or products

These come from where it was grown, how it was processed or cooked, or what it was made into. They are not about the ingredient itself, so the signal does not count them.

• Mercury in fish²

  Anchovy caught in March had mercury levels above the recommended safe limit for people eating it weekly.

• Food poisoning in babies³

  In this outbreak, babies and toddlers got sick from eating dried anchovy that carried a drug-resistant Salmonella germ.

• Mercury from eating fish⁴

  In people, eating more anchovy was linked to higher mercury levels in hair.

• Metals in fish⁵

  One kind of anchovy from Taihu Lake held chromium above China's safety limit, but other metals stayed low.

• Heavy metals in fish⁶

  Anchovies from the Black Sea stayed within safety limits for metals like mercury and arsenic all year.

• Heavy metals in salted fish⁷

  Some supermarket salted anchovies held more cadmium than the recommended limit, though other metals and PCBs stayed below it.

• Metals in oily fish⁸

  Anchovy and sardine from Greek waters held metals, but levels were mostly low and the fish's nutrients outweighed the risks.

• Worm infection in fish muscle⁹

  In Iberian Peninsula anchovies, Anisakis worms were found in the muscle of 7.45%.

• Fish parasite risk¹²

  In anchovies from one Italian fishing area, few Anisakis worms were found, and none in sardines.

• Heavy metals in seafood¹³

  Anchovy from the Black Sea held metals like lead and cadmium, but levels stayed under the limits set for seafood.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.