Seafood sauce: two different foods share the name

The trial data closest to this sauce concern its tomato base. In a randomized crossover trial of 12 healthy adults, lycopene from a heat-processed tomato sauce rich in cis isomers gave a higher absorption response than an all-trans sauce, 7.30 against 4.74 nmol.h/l after adjusting for dose (P = 0.002). That was plain tomato sauce, and we have no measurement of lycopene in cocktail sauce. The name covers two foods. In US survey data cocktail sauce, the tomato condiment served with shrimp, has 1262 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g), about 215 mg in a 17 g tablespoon, scaled from the 100 g value. The item listed as seafood sauce sits in the shellfish category, with 463 mg sodium and 203 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g), and our data do not show its recipe. In 2024 draft guidance the FDA set a voluntary target for packaged ketchup, barbecue and cocktail sauce: an average of 620 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g), with 930 mg as the ceiling for any one product. The 45 packaged products in that category averaged 987 mg in 2022, and the survey cocktail sauce sits above the ceiling.

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• UK data put tomato ketchup at 800 mg sodium and 27.5 g sugars per 3.5 oz (100 g), and horseradish sauce at 910 mg sodium and 8.4 g fat. — UK reference foods, CoFID (n = 2 food records) Evidence E source
  Ketchup 115 calories, 27.5 g sugars, 800 mg sodium; horseradish sauce 153 calories, 15.0 g sugars, 8.4 g fat, 910 mg sodium

What a real portion looks like

• One tablespoon (17 g) of cocktail sauce carries about 215 mg sodium and 2 g sugar in US survey data. — US household measures, FNDDS (n = 1 food code) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: 128 calories, 1262 mg sodium, 11.83 g sugars, 1.36 g protein; 1 tbsp 17 g, packet 12 g, dipping cup 28 g
• The US survey item named seafood sauce is a shellfish-containing sauce with 203 calories, 463 mg sodium and 8.5 g protein per 3.5 oz (100 g). — US household measures, FNDDS (n = 1 food code) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g: 203 calories, 463 mg sodium, 8.53 g protein, 2.51 g carbohydrate, 18 mg cholesterol; 1 tbsp 16 g = 74 mg sodium

What your body absorbs

• A 500 mg calcium carbonate dose cut lycopene bioavailability from a tomato paste meal by 83% in 10 adults. — 10 healthy adults, randomized two-way crossover, 19 mg lycopene from tomato paste (n = 10) Evidence B source
  -83% lycopene bioavailability with 500 mg calcium

What cooking and storage change

• In 12 adults, lycopene from a heat-processed, cis-isomer-rich tomato sauce gave a 7.30 versus 4.74 nmol.h/l absorption response compared with an all-trans sauce. — 12 healthy adults, randomized crossover, 150 g tomato sauce in a standard meal, 2-week washouts (n = 12) Evidence B source
  Dose-adjusted AUC 7.30 (SEM 1.45) vs 4.74 (SEM 1.08) nmol x h/l, P = 0.002
• Cooking tomatoes with 1.7 tbsp (25 ml) olive oil raised plasma trans-lycopene by 82% over 5 days, with no change when cooked without oil. — 23 healthy subjects, 470 g diced tomatoes daily for 5 days, with or without 1.7 tbsp (25 ml) olive oil (n = 23) Evidence B source
  +82% trans-lycopene with oil (P < 0.001); no significant change without oil (P = 0.684)

What it does to your health

• In 22 young men, 8.3 g horseradish in a meal did not change energy expenditure, appetite or intake, but lowered heart rate and raised diastolic pressure. — 22 young normal-weight males, five-way placebo-controlled single-blind crossover, brunch meal (n = 22) Evidence B source
  No effect on thermogenesis, appetite, intake; heart rate down (P=0.048), diastolic BP up (P=0.049)

Safety, limits and interactions

• Across 61 studies shellfish allergy ranged from 0 to 10.3% depending on how it was diagnosed, and from 0 to 0.9% when confirmed by food challenge. — 61 population-based cross-sectional and cohort studies, worldwide (n = 61 studies) Evidence C source
  Shellfish allergy 0-10.3% overall; 0-0.9% with food challenge
• FDA's voluntary Phase II goal for packaged ketchup, barbecue and cocktail sauce is a 620 mg sodium per 3.5 oz (100 g) average, with a 930 mg upper bound per product. — US packaged products in category 57-P, 45 products, 2022 baseline (n = 45 products) Evidence E source
  2022 sales-weighted mean 987 mg/100 g; Phase II mean 620; upper bound 930

What people believe that the data does not support

• The EU did not authorize a claim that horseradish root supports respiratory health. — EU health claim application Evidence E source
  Non-authorized

Who this works differently for

• Seven children with stubborn widespread dermatitis cleared by 60-80% on a diet low in balsam of Peru, chiefly cutting ketchup. — 7 children with recalcitrant widespread dermatitis (n = 7) Evidence C source
  60-80% clearance after low balsam of Peru diet

The bottom line

Two more tomato trials show what changes lycopene uptake. In 23 healthy adults, 17 oz (470 g) of diced tomatoes cooked daily in 1.7 tbsp (25 ml) olive oil for 5 days raised plasma trans-lycopene by 82%, and cooking without oil gave no significant change. Cocktail sauce has almost no fat. In 10 healthy adults, a 500 mg calcium carbonate supplement taken with a tomato paste meal cut lycopene bioavailability by 83%, a result that reaches tomato sauces only by extension. Horseradish was tested in one meal. In 22 young normal-weight men, 8.3 g of horseradish at brunch did not change energy expenditure, appetite or food intake. It lowered heart rate and raised diastolic blood pressure compared with placebo, by amounts the abstract does not give. The EU refused a claim that horseradish root supports respiratory health. That means the evidence was not accepted, and it does not prove the opposite. For comparison, UK data put tomato ketchup at 800 mg sodium and 27.5 g sugars per 3.5 oz (100 g), and horseradish sauce at 910 mg sodium and 8.4 g fat. These describe two usual ingredients of cocktail sauce, not the whole recipe, which varies. The cautions start with shellfish allergy, because the survey seafood sauce sits in the shellfish category and cocktail sauce is eaten with shrimp. Across 61 population studies shellfish allergy ranged up to 10.3% depending on how it was diagnosed, and 0 to 0.9% when a food challenge confirmed it, and none of these studies tested the sauce. In a case series of 7 children with stubborn widespread dermatitis, a diet low in balsam of Peru, mainly cutting ketchup, brought 60 to 80% clearance, with no control group and relevance only to balsam of Peru allergy. Our cards do not list every ingredient of either sauce, so they cannot rule out other allergens. The sodium figures above matter for anyone limiting salt. We have no card on pregnancy or medicines.

Sources

1. sfds-r6-11 · reference dataset
   CoFID 17-709 Tomato ketchup: Energy 115 kcal · Total sugars 27.5 g · Sodium 800 mg; CoFID 17-314 Horseradish sauce: Energy 153 kcal · Total sugars 15.0 g · Fat 8.4 g · Sodium 910 mg
   CoFID 2021, Public Health England / OGL v3.0, codes 17-709 and 17-314 · checked 2026-10-02
2. sfds-r6-09 · reference dataset
   FNDDS 2709753 Cocktail sauce (74406500): Energy 128 kcal/100 g · Sodium 1262 mg/100 g · Total sugars 11.83 g/100 g · Protein 1.36 g/100 g · 1 tablespoon 17 g · 1 packet 12 g · 1 dipping-size container 28 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 74406500 (Cocktail sauce) · checked 2026-10-02
3. sfds-r6-10 · reference dataset
   FNDDS 2706452 Seafood sauce (27150140, WWEIA Shellfish): Energy 203 kcal/100 g · Sodium 463 mg/100 g · Protein 8.53 g/100 g · Carbohydrate 2.51 g/100 g · Cholesterol 18 mg/100 g · 1 tablespoon 16 g
   USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, food code 27150140 (Seafood sauce) · checked 2026-10-02
4. sfds-r6-02 · crossover trial
   ten healthy adults consumed either a test meal that provided 19-mg (all-E)-LYC from tomato paste or the same meal plus 500-mg calcium carbonate as a supplement... LYC bioavailability was diminished by 83 % following the addition of Ca in the test meal.
   Br J Nutr, 2016 · checked 2026-10-02
5. sfds-r6-01 · crossover trial
   Healthy adult subjects (n 12) were recruited for this randomised cross-over trial... AUC values adjusted for the amount lycopene consumed showed that total, total cis-, and all-trans-lycopene responses were significantly higher from the cis-isomer-rich sauce, compared with the all-trans-rich sauce, being 7.30 (sem 1.45) v. 4.74 (sem 1.08) nmol x h/l (P = 0.002)
   Br J Nutr, 2007 · checked 2026-10-02
6. sfds-r6-03 · randomized trial
   There was an 82% increase in plasma trans-lycopene (P< 0.001) and a 40% in cis-lycopene (P = 0.002) concentrations in the 11 subjects who consumed tomatoes cooked in olive oil. There was no significant change in trans-lycopene (P = 0.684) and a 15% increase in cis-lycopene (P = 0.007) concentrations in 12 subjects consuming tomatoes cooked without olive oil.
   Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, 2005 · checked 2026-10-02
7. sfds-r6-04 · crossover trial
   twenty-two young (age 24·9 (SD 4·6) years), normal-weight (BMI 21·8 (SD 2·1) kg/m²) males were randomly assigned to receive a brunch meal with either pepper (1·3 g), ginger (20 g), horseradish (8·3 g), mustard (21 g) or no spices (placebo)... Finally, horseradish decreased heart rate (P=0·048) and increased diastolic blood pressure (P= 0·049) compared with placebo.
   Br J Nutr, 2013 · checked 2026-10-02
8. sfds-r6-06 · systematic review
   The prevalence of fish allergy ranged from 0% to 7% and the prevalence of shellfish allergy from 0% to 10.3%, depending on the method of diagnosis. Where food challenges were used, the prevalence for fish allergy was found to be 0% to 0.3% and for shellfish allergy was 0% to 0.9%.
   Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol, 2016 · checked 2026-10-02
9. sfds-r6-08 · agency guidance
   57 - P Ketchup, Barbecue, Cocktail, and Steak Sauce Ketchup. barbecue sauce, cocktail sauce, and steak sauce. Includes both traditional as well as flavored products. Excludes Asian-style barbecue sauce (soy sauce-based) (see 49 - P). Excludes mayo combinations (e.g. mayonnaise and ketchup combined) (see 60 - P). 45 - 987 620 930
   FDA, Voluntary Sodium Reduction Goals Edition 2, Appendix Table 1, 2024 · checked 2026-10-02
10. sfds-r6-07 · regulatory register
    POL-HC-7269 Horseradish root (Armoracia rusticana) ;; Active ingredients of horseradish can support the respiratory system health. Non-authorised
    EU Register on nutrition and health claims, claim POL-HC-7269, snapshot 2026-09-21 · checked 2026-10-02
11. sfds-r6-05 · case series
    We present seven children with widespread, recalcitrant dermatitis who experienced 60-80% clearance after initiating a diet low in balsam of Peru, specifically the tomato product ketchup.
    Pediatr Dermatol, 2013 · checked 2026-10-02