Many Americans have strong opinions about food (especially what not to put on their plates).
Anchovies rank as the most disliked, with 56.12% of Americans expressing some level of hate or dislike, followed by sardines at 52.40%, squid at 43.69%, oysters at 42.11%, and sushi at 38.59%.
Shrimp, however, stands out as the exception. Despite also being seafood, it has a 46.52% love rate, the fourth-highest of any food in the survey, while just 11.57% of respondents express a negative opinion.
These figures come from a 2025 YouGov survey that sampled a nationally representative sample of 2,239 U.S. adult citizens.
Five of the eight most disliked foods are seafood.
Liver is the only non-seafood item in the top five most disliked foods, with 39.69% of Americans saying they hate it.
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The most hated foods in America
| wdt_ID | wdt_created_by | wdt_created_at | wdt_last_edited_by | wdt_last_edited_at | Food Preferences | Hate it | Dislike it | Not sure | Neutral | Like it | Love it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Anchovies | 35.92% | 20.20% | 9.70% | 18.20% | 10.37% | 5.61% |
| 2 | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Liver | 39.69% | 14.76% | 8.05% | 14.68% | 13.74% | 9.09% |
| 3 | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Sardines | 34.94% | 17.46% | 6.47% | 16.71% | 15.00% | 9.42% |
| 4 | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Tofu | 28.66% | 17.43% | 11.84% | 21.53% | 14.65% | 5.90% |
| 5 | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Squid | 29.41% | 14.28% | 14.38% | 16.35% | 17.20% | 8.38% |
| 6 | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Caviar | 27.04% | 15.84% | 25.88% | 16.16% | 10.82% | 4.26% |
| 7 | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Oysters | 27.56% | 14.55% | 11.26% | 15.29% | 17.90% | 13.43% |
| 8 | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Blue cheese | 20.99% | 17.70% | 4.98% | 17.79% | 22.61% | 15.94% |
| 9 | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Sushi | 27.34% | 11.25% | 6.73% | 13.92% | 18.12% | 22.65% |
| 10 | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Patience | 18/09/2026 04:24 PM | Chitterlings | 27.62% | 10.67% | 35.69% | 16.50% | 5.52% | 4.00% |
Note: Foods included in the survey were based on open-ended responses asking Americans which foods they hate.
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