Food Allergies: Names for Common Allergens

Topic Overview

Food labels tell you what ingredients are in a food. Look for the name of your allergen in the ingredient list, such as buttermilk if you are allergic to milk. You may see an unusual name such as "lecithin" followed by the common name (soy). Also look for a "contains" statement, such as "Contains Wheat, Milk, and Soy."

The following table provides terms you may see on a food label for common allergens and foods that may contain the allergen.

**Common food allergy terms**
Allergen	Other names/ingredients	Sometimes found in:
Wheat	Bran, durum, germ, gluten, grass, malt, sprouts, starch Bulgur Couscous Cereal extract Cracker meal Flours Semolina Spelt Triticale	Glucose syrup Soy sauce Starches Surimi
Milk, cow's milk protein	Casein, caseinates Milk solids Curds, whey Lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate, lactose, lactoferrin Ghee Tagatose	Artificial butter flavor, margarine Cheeses, custard, pudding, sour cream, yogurt Chocolate, caramel candies Lactic acid starter culture and other bacterial cultures Lunch meats, hot dogs, sausages
Eggs	Albumin Mayonnaise Meringue and meringue powder Ovalbumin Lysozyme Surimi	Baked goods Egg substitutes Lecithin Macaroni, pasta Marzipan, marshmallow, nougat
Shellfish	Barnacle, crab, crawfish, krill, lobster, prawns, shrimp Mollusks, clams, cockle, octopus, scallops, squid, oysters Periwinkle, sea cucumber, whelk	Bouillabaisse Glucosamine Surimi
Tree nuts	Almonds, beechnut, Brazil nut, butternut, cashew, chestnut Chinquapin, coconut, hazelnut, gianduja, ginkgo nut, hickory nut Litchi, macadamia nut, marzipan, nangai nut, pecans, pesto, pine nut, pistachio, praline, shea nut, walnut	Nut extracts Nut oils
Peanuts	Arachis oil Cold-pressed, expeller-pressed, or extruded peanut oil Beer nuts, ground nuts, mixed nuts, artificial nuts, monkey nuts, nut meat Mandelonas	Baked goods (pastries, cookies) Candy, chocolates, nougat, marzipan Chili, soups, egg rolls Enchilada sauce, mole sauce African, Asian, and Mexican dishes
Soy	Edamame Textured vegetable protein (TVP) Miso, natto, shoyu, tofu	Asian dishes Vegetable broth, vegetable gum, vegetable starch
Fish	Anchovies Caviar Roe	Anchovies Caviar Roe

Related Information»

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