Hidden Sources of Eggs & Egg Allergy Information

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If you’re managing an egg allergy, egg intolerance, or have an infant, baby, or child with an egg allergy, you’re in the right place. Today I’m going to break down what eggs are, what an egg allergy is, and the hidden sources of eggs.

You’ll also learn the different names for eggs so you know how to read ingredient lists, we’ll talk a little about the food labeling law here in the United States, and then I’ll be sharing a very long list of foods that can contain eggs.

Don’t let these lists get you down. They’re here to empower you so you know how to keep yourself and your kiddos safe from all sources of eggs in ingredients.

What is a Food Allergy?

I food allergy is a response by your immune system that’s triggered by a protein that your body sees as a threat. This is not the same thing as a food intolerance or an autoimmune disease. If you suspect you have a food allergy, ask your healthcare provider to refer you to an allergist where a blood test and/or skin prick test can be ordered to determine if you have an allergy. Know that tests are not 100% accurate, but are still a good diagnostic tool.

A “true” food allergy is IgE mediated, and the immune system usually elicits a reaction within immediate ingestion to four hours. Outside of that window, it’s usually suspected that you have a food intolerance.

However, there are some types of allergenic diseases that are “true” food allergies and the reactions happen outside of the four hour window. Additionally, a person can have a more rare or complex case and suffer from delayed reactions (which can still be “true” food allergies).

In some patients, they have what’s called contact or airborne allergies as well. In their case, a reaction can be triggered by touching the food or by breathing in its particles (like when cooking or baking). Food allergies can be life threatening and should always be taken seriously. Work with your allergist and healthcare providers to create an action plan that will meet your needs.

Symptoms of an Egg Allergy

Food allergy reactions can vary among patients, as no two people are the same. Some allergy symptoms of an egg allergy include: diarrhea, blood in stool, dizziness, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, wheezing, swelling of the mouth, tongue swelling, itchy mouth/throat, vomiting, hives, skin rashes, nausea, decreased blood pressure, racing heart rate, dizziness, loss of consciousness, and more.

There are hundreds of symptoms a person can experience, but it’s important to know three things about egg allergy symptoms:

Not every reaction is anaphylaxis. People can have a “non-traditional” egg allergy reaction to food and still be allergic to them.
Should a person experience anaphylaxis, it’s important to seek immediate medical treatment (use your epinephrine injector if you have one). When left untreated, anaphylaxis can lead to anaphylactic shock, which can cause death.
Previous allergic reactions don’t predict future reactions (or the severity), and in some patients, continued exposure to allergens can cause more severe reactions each time.

A child may talk about a food allergy differently than adults. Many children will say things like “my mouth is spicy” or “there’s a frog in my throat”. They’re trying to express what the reactions feel like to them with language or experiences that are familiar to them. Always take note of these types of statements from a child, as they can indicate a serious medical situation. If needed, don’t hesitate to seek medical treatment.

Determine Your Level of Sensitivity to Eggs

If you have an egg allergy or egg intolerance, the solution may seem simple: avoid eggs. It’s not always that easy though. First, you’ll need to know how sensitive you are. Here’s how I like to look at allergens:

Is it in the main ingredients
Is it a processing aid
Is it on the equipment (shared equipment)
Is it in the facility
Is there transportation or storage exposure

When it comes to levels of sensitivity, you’ll need to know what you can handle in terms of shared equipment and facilities. It really boils down to: can you handle trace amounts of the allergen? No matter where you fall on the list/bell curve, it’s always safe to call/email companies and manufacturers to find out about their processing and production of a product.

For example, JUST makes a vegan egg substitute. Whilst this is great for the vegan community, JUST makes no claim to be safe for people with food allergies. Their primary market is the vegan community, and not those who are vegan via an allergy. I do appreciate that when I reached out to them they were very upfront about this.

More than anything, I love transparency from manufacturers, and if you can handle trace amounts of egg (and other major allergens) JUST really does make an interesting product.

Related: Easy Cooking Video: Egg Free Omelet Recipe

Definition of Eggs

It’s kind of interesting that I sit here typing out the definition of eggs… I never dreamed this is what I’d do as a child. When testing for an allergy, tests are generally indicating an allergy to chicken egg protein. Many tests will also test you for an egg white allergy and egg yolk allergy as it’s possible to be allergic to only one, rather than a whole egg.

You can purchase eggs from duck, quail, and ostrich as well. Those are the eggs you’ll most likely have available to you in grocery stores. Some people will be able to tolerate non-chicken eggs, and some won’t. When you’re new to all of this, it’s best to avoid all forms of eggs. Then, work with your doctor to have a better understanding of what would be good for you to trial, if anything at all.

Related: Over 600 Egg Free Recipes

Understanding How Eggs Are Used in Food

Eggs are magic in the kitchen (for those who can have them). Understanding how eggs are used in food will help you ask better questions, and will also make it easier to naturally see a food that may or may not contain egg, and help you sus out hidden sources of eggs.

Eggs do three main things in food: lift, moisten, and bind. Secondary to that, they can add flavour, alter the texture, and in some cases they’re used as an emulsifier. On top of all of that, eggs are a powerhouse where nutrition is concerned, so it’s no wonder why people enjoy using them in recipes.

As a lifting agent, egg whites do the heavy lifting, literally. You can whip up egg whites and create stiff peaks that aerate baked goods. For those allergic to eggs, look into aquafaba as a really cool substitute. In fact, go watch this episode of Dang! That’s Delicious, where I show you aquafaba in action.

In baking, egg is a common binding agent. It can literally hold recipes together. Without them, you can have crumbly baked goods, which not many are a fan of. For those allergic to eggs, you can use flax seed and chia seed as an alternative binder, something that I often do.

Eggs can moisten a recipe as well. Depending on. how old you are, you may have grown up hearing your grandma and her friends talk about putting mayonnaise in a cake. I personally found this offensive as a child, however, as a culinary professional, I get it. What is mayo? A bunch of egg yolks and oil. Those two ingredients lend themselves to creating rich and indulgent textures in your baked goods, as well as an incredibly moistness (but not soggy).

For those allergic to eggs, use oil in your baked goods to help replicate that moistness. In addition to all of this, egg whites and egg yolks can be used separately in recipes and give different outcomes. Egg whites can do amazing things in baking such as create amazing lift and fluff for things like angel food cake. Egg yolks are common in custards, puddings, and pastry creams as their fatty richness adds something special to recipes.

You’ll even sometimes see eggs make an appearance online in viral videos, like the eggs in the cappuccino recipe that went wild a while back. Hopefully this understanding will help you in not only grocery shopping, but in creating recipes at home. For more info on egg free baking, check out this article (it also focuses heavily on gluten free baking).

Other Names for Eggs

On some labels you’ll see egg, whole egg, egg yolk, and egg white. These are usually referring to chicken eggs. Other names that can indicate egg include:

Albumin
Globulin
Glycopreotein
Lecithin
Livetin
Lysozyme (found in egg white)
Ovalbumin
Ovomucin
Ovomucoid
Ovovitellin
Powdered Egg
Silici Albuminate
Simplesse
Vitellin

I’m sure you’ve never heard of most of these. For the most part, rather than list egg parts by the protein on labels, it’s simply listed as egg. This can vary by country.

How to Read Food Labels When You Have an Egg Allergy

Egg is considered a major allergen here in the U.S. and around the world (top 8, top 9, top 10, top 12, and top 14). Food labels should clearly indicate if egg is an ingredient on the ingredient list of the package. You’ll either see the word egg (or eggs) in bold on the label, or you’ll see a “contains” statement. It will say something like “Contains: Wheat, Egg“.

Here in the U.S. and around the world, there’s a lot of details that aren’t on food labels. That includes:

If the food was made on shared equipment with eggs.
If eggs are present in the manufacturing facility.
If the raw materials came into contact with eggs in any way including storage.

The good news is that companies keep good records and details about major allergens. Since egg is a major allergen here in the United States and abroad, you should be able to contact a company and get detailed answers. Manufacturer’s can also reach out to their supply chain from start to finish to make sure eggs aren’t present.

Cross-Contact: What Is It?

Cross-contact, which some people incorrectly but also technically correctly call cross-contamination, is something everyone with a food allergy needs to know about. It’s important that you use the terms that are used in the food service and food manufacturing worlds, not how you’ll see people use it on the internet. If you don’t use it properly then try to communicate, professionals will be confused.

Cross-Contact: This refers to allergens specifically. If a chef uses a spoon in the hollandaise sauce containing egg, then transfers the spoon to the egg free sauce to sample. In this case, a pathogen was not transferred because the hollandaise sauce is cooked. An allergenic protein however was transferred.

Cross-Contamination: This refers to pathogens, bacteria, and food borne illnesses.

Example: a chef places raw chicken on a cutting board to prep it for service. After completion, raw celery which will be served raw is placed on the same cutting board. There’s contamination from the raw chicken and can cause a food borne illness via the celery that touched the board.

The issue with these terms is that *technically*, cross-contact is indeed cross-contamination. If you eat something contaminated with eggs, it causes a food borne illness in you. Yet, that’s where we have to focus on the terms pathogen and allergen. That will be the defining feature of these cross terms.

Now that you know the difference, make sure you use the right term when you communicate with companies and restaurants. Chefs and wait-staff especially will be confused if you use the wrong terms because they’ve been trained with pathogen vs allergen.

Through my work, I’ve met tens of thousands of people with food allergies. Whilst this isn’t an official stat or scientifically collected data, I’m able to estimate that about 30% of people with food allergies aren’t able to eat food that’s been processed on shared equipment with what they’re allergic to.

Keep that in the back of your mind if you seem to have “random reactions” even though you’re following an egg free diet (but still eating commercially produced foods). But, also have hope that you’re in the 70% group.

If you’d like to read a lot more about cross-contact, all the ways it can happen, and how to prevent in your own home, check out this article.

Diet Types & Cuisines

Most major cuisines will generally include egg as an ingredient. When eating out, always ask to see an allergy menu. You should also call ahead and make sure they can serve you safely.

As an example, Pasta Carbonara contains eggs. If you’re new to an egg allergy diagnosis, you may not think to ask about these types of menu items. Interestingly, in Europe, most restaurants have a fantastic numbering system that indicates which of the 14 major allergens can be found in a dish. Very handy!

Diet Types That Exclude Egg

Since these cuisines are naturally egg free, you may have better results eating at restaurants that are solely focused on these diet types. One of the biggest tips I can give you when you’re new to the diagnosis: if you’re looking for packaged foods, look for food products that claim to serve those diet types listed above.

Also note, vegetarian is not the same thing as vegan. The vegetarian diet types allows for eggs and other animal products that aren’t animal flesh (such as milk).

Other Facts You Should Know About Eggs

Eggs are NOT dairy. Many people get this confused, including the staff at restaurants.

Ask your allergist about baked egg. Some people can tolerate it, and it may be a safe option for you. The reason why is because when you bake eggs at a certain temperature for a period of time, it denatures the proteins, and some are able to tolerate this weakened version of the egg proteins.

Some flu shots/flu vaccines and vaccines (including the malaria vaccine and MMR vaccine) can be an issue for those with an egg allergy. In some countries, there are guidelines that say something like “patients with a history of severe reactions to hen’s eggs should not be given the measles vaccine”.

Remember, know how sensitive you are and how severe your reactions are. You may hear/read lots of conflicting information on the topic of egg allergy and vaccines. At the end of the day, do what’s right for YOU. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say you have to have specific medical treatment.

Hidden Sources of Egg (and a few obvious sources as well)

Now that you know allll of those facts, here are packaged goods and commercial foods that can contain egg. Remember, by default, if it’s a vegan product, it will be egg free. However, that won’t tell you the status of the ingredient sourcing, equipment, and facility.

Aioli (a fancy name for flavoured mayo)
Artificial & Natural Flavor
Artificial Crab
Baked Goods of All Sorts (gluten & gluten free varieties): Bread/Breadcrumbs, Brownies, Cookies, Cake/Cupcakes, Graham Crackers, Muffins
Cake Frosting (not all types, so read food labels carefully)
Canned Soup
Coffee Foam (specialty coffee drinks)
Confectionary Glaze & Traditional Royal Icing
Consommé (a clarified broth, usually made with an egg raft to remove impurities, more common in fine dining)
Custards
Dessert Fillings
Egg Nog (unless it’s vegan)
French Toast
Frittata
Frosting/Royal Icing
Hollandaise
Ice Cream, including dairy free
Marzipan
Marshmallows (these days you can easily find egg free marshmallows)
Mayonnaise
Meatloaf
Meatballs
Meringue
Nougat
Pancake Batter & Pancakes
Pasta (both gluten & gluten free pastas)
Pastry Cream
Pretzels (hard & soft)
Protein “Boosted” Foods (think: snack bars etc. that claim they’re higher in protein)
Protein Powder
Puddings (not as common in boxed pudding mix)
Protein Powder/Shakes
Quiche
Salad Dressings (including common dressings like Caesar Salad Dressing)
Sauces (a variety of sauces sold commercially and in restaurants can contain eggs)
Soufflé
Waffles

Hidden Egg in Fine Dining

Many people are unaware of this but to make a clarified broth, egg is used to create a raft that floats in the broth to attract the impurities. Depending on where you dine, they may or may not think to tell you to avoid specific menu items made with said broth. When you call in advance, ask about these types of menu items.

Additionally, several “fancy” cocktails contain egg white. As someone who doesn’t drink or work with these products, I’m going to encourage you to search online to learn more about the topic if you enjoy cocktails.

Additional Egg Free Resources

If you’re struggling with an egg allergy diagnosis, know that you aren’t alone. If recipes are what you need, check out RAISE (my membership website). There are lots of great resources, and then there are well over 650 recipes, all of which are egg free.

If you need more support, check out 1-on-1 Consulting with The Allergy Chef

Egg Free Breakfasts (great recipes and ideas)
Hidden Sources of Allergens (free eCourse, excellent information especially if you’re new to any food allergy diagnosis)
Top 9 Allergy Free Lunch Ideas & Recipes
Dang! That’s Delicious: Egg Free Breakfast Casserole

Answering Your Hidden Sources of Eggs and Egg Allergy Questions

Do I have to do a food challenge?

A food challenge, sometimes called an oral challenge is entirely voluntary. Neither you nor your child have to do a food challenge if it makes you uncomfortable. Know that these are done under the supervision of your medical team, and they can intervene if there are signs of an allergic reaction.

I will say this: I’ve met adults who were put through countless food challenges and allergy tests as children. Their parents would test and test every year, and the child wouldn’t pass. They’ve told me as adults that they hated those tests and felt like a failure because they didn’t pass and their parents were disappointed.

Are all parents like that? No. Of course not. However, keep in mind that kids internalize things and if you’re constantly testing a child for food allergies, it can have a lasting effect on them.

How can I make easy egg free breakfasts?

I’ve found that for folks living with an egg allergy, breakfast is one of the hardest meals to work out. Not to worry, I’ve got you covered. Rather than talk your ear off, I’m going to point you towards several articles here on the website that are all about egg free and allergy friendly breakfast ideas and recipes.

I have wheat, nut, and egg allergies. How can I make good meatballs?

The good news is this: you don’t need wheat, tree nuts, or eggs to make good meatballs. Here’s a meatball recipe you can start with. Then, take a look at this article that outlines great meatball recipes and ideas.

If I go through OIT for milk and egg allergies, will I be able to eat them safely?

OIT (oral immunotherapy) is never guaranteed to work. In fact, when someone passes, we say they’re “in remission”, not cured, as there are no cures for food allergies. Know that results vary from one individual to the next because this is all a science of the immune system. Since no two people are the same, it’s impossible to predict 100% of the time how individuals will respond to OIT.

I’ve known of people who could never get pass the first OIT dose, and those who live in full remission. However, the thing about OIT that people don’t talk about enough is that just how you can gain tolerance, you can lose it as well. I’ve also met people in this boat where they passed OIT, then a few years later woke up one day and had a severe allergic reaction.

Additionally, those with EOE have a higher risk of developing more issues if they undergo OIT. This type of science is, in my opinion, poorly understood, and all you can do is do your best and work with the information you and your medical team have.

Really assess OIT and what it can do for you, and what your goals are. If the risk seems worth it, as an adult, I say go for it. If you’re managing a child, it’s different because of consent. It’s really important that they give fully informed consent before you introduce known food allergens to their system (something a lot of parents overlook). This is doubly true if your child has a complex case.

Is an egg allergy the same thing as an egg intolerance?

No, an egg allergy and an egg intolerance are two different things. Whilst they both involve the immune system, an allergy shows symptoms (usually) within immediate ingestion to four hours. Outside of that window, it’s suspected that you have an intolerance.

Additionally, an egg intolerance can’t lead to anaphylactic shock since it’s not IgE mediated. You can have a whole host of other reactions though including stomach cramps, itchy and/or watery eyes, runny nose, headache, severe digestive pain, skin issues, congestion, and a whole lot more.

A lot of people incorrectly think that a food intolerance is not as serious as a food allergy. Just because you don’t need an epi-pen doesn’t mean you take it lightly. A food intolerance, especially over time, can cause compounded health issues. So, no matter which boat you fall into, make sure you’re diligent and avoid eggs.

I have an egg allergy. Will my baby have an egg allergy as well?

No, a family history doesn’t guarantee that your child will also have a food allergy. It doesn’t exclude them either. Also know that even if both parents have food allergies (even to the same foods) and their child is born with food allergies, said child may not have the same allergies as the parents.

Since there are a wide range of causes for food allergies, prevention isn’t cut and dry. Whilst you’re not able to have eggs in your diet during pregnancy, I’d encourage you to take a look at the LEAP study. It’s one of the best studies for food allergy prevention in babies if you ask me, and it can give you ideas on how to take the next steps, especially when you’re introducing solids. Whilst the LEAP study is peanut specific, you can draw conclusions for other allergies as well.

Is eczema a symptom of an egg allergy?

Eczema is a common egg allergy symptom in infants, babies, toddlers, and sometimes adults as well. However, eczema can be linked to other health conditions, so if you suspect a food allergy, make an appointment with your doctor for testing.

I’d also encourage you to read information from allergists who specialize in eczema, such as Dr. Ratika Gupta.

Does pizza contain eggs?

Not always. If you find a pizzeria that makes a very traditional pizza dough, the dough should be egg free. The ingredients are water, salt, flour, and yeast in the traditional world.

The red sauce should be egg free, high quality cheese will be egg free, and many toppings are naturally egg free such as peppers and mushrooms.

However, eggs can show up in a lot of places in the modern commercial food world, so always call ahead. You can also opt to order a vegan pizza, which will naturally be egg free. Be sure to check out the Spokin app and Allergy Eats app as they can also help you find egg free pizza options.

When traveling internationally, how can I make sure egg products aren’t in the foods I’m ordering?

If you’re new to traveling with a food allergy, I’d suggest going to a country where you can fluently speak the language and read food labels. I’d also encourage you to research what types of foods are available where you’re headed. You can also download the Fig app and use it in grocery stores.

If all else fails, whilst traveling, you can order very basic foods that won’t contain egg products (steamed rice, steamed vegetables, basic cooked steak, etc.).

For more in depth allergy friendly travel advice, start with the Equal Eats app and website. Second, check out the city guides on Spokin.