Clams vs mussels: calories compared

Cooked clams and mussels are close on protein and calories. Sodium is the big gap in these USDA records: 4 oz (113 g) of cooked clams carries about 1,360 mg against about 420 mg for mussels.

In one 1990 study that fed both, 18 men with normal cholesterol ate each shellfish in turn. Both diets lowered VLDL triglycerides, and the clam diet also lowered LDL and total cholesterol, which the mussel diet did not. It was small and states no randomization.

Both are filter feeders, and norovirus can survive commercial purification and kitchen steps. FDA acts on clams and mussels in US commerce at 80 micrograms of paralytic shellfish poison per 3.5 oz (100 g), and a leftover Alaskan clam that sent a woman to intensive care held 277 micrograms of saxitoxin. Shellfish you gather yourself fall outside that limit. Mussels from Prince Edward Island put 19 people in hospital in 1987, 12 of them in intensive care. A shrimp allergy puts both in question, because the main shellfish allergen cross-reacts between crustaceans and molluscs.

CDC advises boiling shellfish until the shells open and then 3 to 5 minutes more, and throwing out any that stay shut. FDA tells pregnant women, young children, older adults and people with weakened immunity to avoid raw or undercooked shellfish.

If you watch salt, mussels are the lighter pick.

Evidence behind this note

1. Level C The same clam diet lowered VLDL triglycerides and cholesterol as well as LDL and total cholesterol in 18 men, while shrimp and squid diets changed nothing. Am J Clin Nutr, 1990
2. Level C Bivalve molluscs concentrate norovirus by filter feeding, and high viral loads survive both depuration and ordinary food preparation steps. Transbound Emerg Dis, 2020
3. Level C A clam left over from an Alaskan meal that put one woman in intensive care measured 277 micrograms of saxitoxin per 3.5 oz (100 g), more than three times the regulatory action level. J Anal Toxicol, 2018
4. Level E The FDA acts against a lot of clams, mussels or oysters once paralytic shellfish poison reaches 80 micrograms per 3.5 oz (100 g) of meat. FDA Compliance Policy Guide Sec. 540.250, Clams, Mussels, Oysters, Fresh, Frozen or Canned, Paralytic Shellfish Poison
5. Level C In the 1987 Prince Edward Island outbreak, 107 people met the case definition after eating cultivated mussels carrying domoic acid, 19 were hospitalized and 3 died. N Engl J Med, 1990
6. Level C In the 1987 Prince Edward Island outbreak, 107 people fell ill after eating cultivated mussels carrying the algal toxin domoic acid, 19 were hospitalized and 3 died. N Engl J Med, 1990
7. Level C Tropomyosin is the major shellfish allergen and it cross-reacts between crustaceans and molluscs, which is why a shrimp allergy puts clams and mussels in question rather than in the clear. Immunol Invest, 2016
8. Level E To prevent Vibrio infection, CDC advises boiling mussels in the shell until the shells open and then for another 3 to 5 minutes, or cooking them for another 4 to 9 minutes in a steamer that is already steaming, and eating only shellfish that open during cooking. CDC, Vibrio Infection: Prevention
9. Level E FDA tells pregnant women and other at-risk groups to avoid raw or undercooked fish or shellfish. US FDA, Selecting and Serving Fresh and Frozen Seafood Safely

Written from the studies and agency guidance we hold for both foods, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.

Read more about these foods

• Clams: the trial used an extract, the risk is in the water
• Mussels: the strong trials are about the extract

What the studies say

• Are mussels safe during pregnancy? Cooked ones fit the fish advice, raw ones do not

Rankings and guides

• Calories: what it does and what the evidence shows
• Which foods give the most protein for the fewest calories?
• Dietary fat: what it does and how much you need
• Mussels: full nutrition facts

More comparisons

• Clams vs oysters

• Clams: USDA FoodData Central, Mollusks, clam, mixed species, cooked, moist heat, FDC ID 171975 · all forms of clams
• Mussels: USDA FoodData Central, Mollusks, mussel, blue, cooked, moist heat, FDC ID 174217 · full profile · all forms of mussels

Each food is one USDA entry, chosen as it is usually eaten. Other cuts, brands and preparations differ; the links show them. % DV uses FDA Daily Values for adults. How we verify.