Shrimp and prawn as food

Raw shrimp (mixed species)

Marinated king prawns
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy	297 kJ (71 kcal)
Carbohydrates	0.91 g
Fat	1.01 g
Saturated	3.98 g
Monounsaturated	0.080 g
Protein	13.61 g
Vitamins	Quantity %DV†
Vitamin A	180 IU
Vitamin D	0% 2 IU
Minerals	Quantity %DV†
Calcium	4% 54 mg
Iron	1% 0.21 mg
Magnesium	5% 22 mg
Phosphorus	20% 244 mg
Potassium	4% 113 mg
Sodium	25% 566 mg
Zinc	9% 0.97 mg
Other constituents	Quantity
Water	83.01 g
Cholesterol	0.0013 g
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults,[1] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[2]

Shrimp and prawn are types of sea animals that are consumed worldwide. Although shrimp and prawns belong to different suborders of Decapoda, they are very similar in appearance and the terms are often used interchangeably in commercial farming and wild fisheries. A distinction is drawn in recent aquaculture literature, which increasingly uses the term "prawn" only for the saltwater forms of palaemonids and "shrimp" for the marine penaeids.^[3] They are the animals most commonly used and killed for food production.^[4]

In the United Kingdom, the word "prawn" is more common on menus than "shrimp"; the opposite is the case in North America. The term "prawn" is also loosely used for any large shrimp, especially those that come 15 (or fewer) to the pound (such as "king prawns", yet sometimes known as "jumbo shrimp"). Australia and some other Commonwealth nations follow this British usage to an even greater extent, using the word "prawn" almost exclusively. When Australian comedian Paul Hogan used the phrase, "I'll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you" in an American television advertisement,^[5] it was intended to make what he was saying easier for his American audience to understand, and was thus a deliberate distortion of what an Australian would typically say. In Britain very small crustaceans with a brownish shell are called shrimp, and are used to make potted shrimps. They are also used in dishes where they are not the primary ingredient. The French term crevette is often encountered in restaurants.

Shrimp and other shellfish are among the most common food allergens.^[6] The Jewish dietary laws called Kashrut forbid the eating of shrimp.^[7] Meanwhile, in Islamic dietary law, the Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali and Ja'fari schools allow the eating of shrimp, while the Hanafi school does not.