FDA Warns Against Eating Cicadas If You Are Allergic To Seafood

While it may be tempting to some, the Food and Drug Administration warns people allergic to seafood to refrain from throwing a batch of Cicadas on the grill this summer.

“We have to say it. Don’t eat #cicadas if you’re allergic to seafood as these insects share a family relation to shrimp and lobsters,” the FDA wrote in a tweet on Wednesday.

The creepy-looking cacophonous insects have emerged this month as part of “Brood X,” which is one of 15 broods of cicadas that appear once every 17 years. The brood is centered around Pennsylvania, northern Virginia, Indiana, and eastern Tennessee. The invasion of cicadas is expected to be at its peak now. They will begin to die off in late June and will be mostly gone by mid-July.

Those with a seafood allergy who choose to eat cicadas may be at risk of experiencing hives, swelling of the lips, throat and mouth-tingling, itchy skin, and tightening of the throat.

If you experience any of these symptoms, please seek medical attention immediately.

Yep! We have to say it!

Don't eat #cicadas if you're allergic to seafood as these insects share a family relation to shrimp and lobsters. https://t.co/UBg7CwrObN pic.twitter.com/3qn7czNg53

— U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) June 2, 2021