Foods high in zinc: ranked by France's official Ciqual table
According to the 2025 Ciqual table from ANSES, France's food safety agency, the top three everyday foods highest in zinc: “Beef, knuckle, boiled/cooked in water” (11 mg per 100 g), “Beef, braised” (10.5 mg) and “Sesame seed, grilled, husked” (10.2 mg).
What it does
Zinc is an essential trace element: it is involved in the activity of about 300 enzymes and more than 2,500 transcription factors, the proteins that switch your genes on and off. A deficiency slows growth and weakens immune defenses. What makes zinc special is that absorption depends heavily on the rest of your plate. Phytates, found in grains and legumes, reduce it. That's why your needs shift with the way you eat, and why a single number on a label doesn't tell the whole story.
The ranking: the 25 everyday foods highest in zinc
| Rank | Food | Group | mg / 100 g | % NRV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beef, knuckle, boiled/cooked in water | Cooked meat | 11 | 110 % |
| 2 | Beef, braised | Cooked meat | 10.5 | 105 % |
| 3 | Sesame seed, grilled, husked | Nuts and seeds | 10.2 | 102 % |
| 4 | Hemp, seed, hulled | Nuts and seeds | 9.9 | 99 % |
| 5 | Veal, knuckle or shank, braised or boiled | Cooked meat | 8.81 | 88 % |
| 6 | Flaked crab and/or decorticated crab leg, canned, drained | Fish products | 8.8 | 88 % |
| 7 | Cereal flakes, plain, with sugar(s), fortified with vitamins and minerals | Breakfast cereals | 8.6 | 86 % |
| 8 | Vacherin cheese or Mont d'or cheese, from cow's milk | Cheese and similar | 8 | 80 % |
| 9 | Cereal flakes with chocolate, with or without nuts, fortified with vitamins and minerals | Breakfast cereals | 8 | 80 % |
| 10 | Pumpkin and squash, seed, dried | Nuts and seeds | 7.81 | 78 % |
| 11 | Egg yolk, powder | Eggs | 7.73 | 77 % |
| 12 | Shiitake mushroom, dried | Vegetables | 7.66 | 77 % |
| 13 | Cereal flakes with fruits, fortified with vitamins and minerals | Breakfast cereals | 7.53 | 75 % |
| 14 | Heart, chicken, cooked | Cooked meat | 7.3 | 73 % |
| 15 | Spiny lobster, boiled/cooked in water | Seafood, cooked | 7.27 | 73 % |
| 16 | Lamb, neck, braised or boiled | Cooked meat | 7.14 | 71 % |
| 17 | Puffed rice, plain, fortified with vitamins and minerals | Breakfast cereals | 7 | 70 % |
| 18 | Crustacean or mollusc (average) | Seafood, cooked | 6.92 | 69 % |
| 19 | Alfalfa, seeds | Nuts and seeds | 6.9 | 69 % |
| 20 | Liver, pork, cooked | Cooked meat | 6.72 | 67 % |
| 21 | Cooked ham, superior quality, rind less | Delicatessen meat and similar | 6.5 | 65 % |
| 22 | Flaxseed, seed | Nuts and seeds | 6.1 | 61 % |
| 23 | Cod roe, smoked, semi-preserved | Fish products | 6.03 | 60 % |
| 24 | Carré de l'Est cheese, from cow's milk | Cheese and similar | 6 | 60 % |
| 25 | Preserved gizzards, duck, canned | Cooked meat | 6 | 60 % |
How much you need
The EU nutrient reference value (NRV) is 10 mg a day (Regulation 1169/2011). EFSA (2014) and France's ANSES go further: the reference depends on how much phytate you eat. For men, it ranges from 9.4 mg a day at 300 mg of phytate to 14 mg at 900 mg (16.3 mg at 1,200 mg according to EFSA); for women, from 7.5 to 11 mg (12.7 mg). The more whole grains and legumes you eat, the higher your need. Pregnancy and breastfeeding add 1.6 and 2.9 mg a day respectively, according to EFSA.
Best sources, food group by food group
| Food group | Food | mg / 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Meat | Beef, knuckle, boiled/cooked in water | 11 |
| Beef, braised | 10.5 | |
| Veal, knuckle or shank, braised or boiled | 8.81 | |
| Fish and seafood | Flaked crab and/or decorticated crab leg, canned, drained | 8.8 |
| Spiny lobster, boiled/cooked in water | 7.27 | |
| Crustacean or mollusc (average) | 6.92 | |
| Eggs and dairy | Vacherin cheese or Mont d'or cheese, from cow's milk | 8 |
| Egg yolk, powder | 7.73 | |
| Carré de l'Est cheese, from cow's milk | 6 | |
| Legumes, grains, tubers | Lupin, seed, dried | 4.75 |
| Crispbread, with bran, source or rich in fibre | 4.2 | |
| Durum wheat, wholewheat, raw | 4.16 | |
| Fruits and vegetables | Shiitake mushroom, dried | 7.66 |
| Tomato, dried | 1.99 | |
| Onion, dried | 1.89 | |
| Nuts and seeds | Sesame seed, grilled, husked | 10.2 |
| Hemp, seed, hulled | 9.9 | |
| Pumpkin and squash, seed, dried | 7.81 |
Practical tips
- Meat and shellfish are the most direct sources. In the Ciqual table, braised beef provides 10.5 mg per 100 g (3.5 oz), cooked 5% fat ground beef 6.4 mg and canned crab 8.8 mg. ANSES also lists organ meats, cheese, legumes and fish.
- Soak, sprout, ferment. Soaking legumes, sprouting seeds or fermenting (sourdough bread, for instance) lowers phytates and improves mineral availability, according to a review by Hotz and Gibson (2007).
- Sesame, hemp and pumpkin seeds. They're the richest plant foods in the Ciqual table (7.8 to 10.2 mg per 100 g). Count them as a top-up, since portions are small.
- Lots of whole grains and legumes? Then aim for the upper end of EFSA's range rather than the NRV, and talk to your doctor before taking any supplement.
How this ranking is built
Values per 100 g of the food as described (raw, cooked, drained…), as published by ANSES, France's food safety agency, in the 2025 Ciqual table (3484 foods; zinc content known for 2377 of them). The everyday ranking leaves out spices, herbs, seaweed and condiments, supplements and foods for special medical purposes, baby foods, alcohol, and raw meat or fish (the cooked version is kept). To keep the examples varied, only one food per main name is kept (the richest). Values listed as “traces” count as zero; values below the quantification limit are not ranked. % NRV compares the content per 100 g with the EU nutrient reference value (10 mg per day, Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011), the one used on food labels: a benchmark, not your personal requirement. One clearly atypical value was set aside: Tournesol, graine, grillé, salé : 36 mg/100 g, environ 7 fois les autres graines de tournesol de la table.
Frequently asked questions
Which food has the most zinc?
Top of the everyday foods in the 2025 Ciqual table from ANSES: “Beef, knuckle, boiled/cooked in water”, with 11 mg per 100 g, ahead of “Beef, braised” (10.5 mg) and “Sesame seed, grilled, husked” (10.2 mg).
How much zinc do I need per day?
According to EFSA, it depends on the phytate in your diet: from 9.4 to 16.3 mg a day for men and from 7.5 to 12.7 mg for women, the higher values applying to phytate-rich diets. The EU label NRV is 10 mg.
Which plant foods are high in zinc?
In the Ciqual table: roasted sesame seeds (10.2 mg per 100 g), hemp seeds (9.9 mg), pumpkin seeds (7.8 mg), dried lupin (4.75 mg) and cooked lentils (1.25 mg). Since phytates in grains and legumes reduce absorption, soaking, sprouting and fermenting help.
Sources
- Anses. Table de composition nutritionnelle des aliments Ciqual 2025. doi:10.5281/zenodo.17550133
- EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA). Scientific Opinion on Dietary Reference Values for zinc. EFSA Journal. 2014. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2014.3844
- Anses. Les références nutritionnelles en vitamines et minéraux. 2025. anses.fr
- Règlement (UE) n° 1169/2011 du Parlement européen et du Conseil du 25 octobre 2011 concernant l'information des consommateurs sur les denrées alimentaires, annexe XIII. Journal officiel de l'Union européenne. 2011. eur-lex.europa.eu
- Hotz C, Gibson RS. Traditional food-processing and preparation practices to enhance the bioavailability of micronutrients in plant-based diets. J Nutr. 2007. doi:10.1093/jn/137.4.1097
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