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Food Allergy Glossary

This page was reviewed or revised on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 11:09 AM

PDF of Food Allergy Glossary (Dated Nov. 14, 2008)

What is a food allergy?

A food allergy is a response of the immune system to a component of food, usually a protein that the immune system recognizes as foreign to the body.

When a food allergy is confirmed, complete removal of all offending foods from the diet is essential.

The 10 most common food allergens are: milk, egg, wheat, corn, soy, peanut, nuts, chocolate, fish and shellfish.  This fact sheet will provide detailed information on the first six most common food allergens.

Milk Allergy

Milk and dairy products to be avoided include:

milk	cottage cheese	casein hydrolysate
condensed milk	cream cheese	caseinate
evaporated milk	feta	sodium caseinate
milk solids	ricotta	potassium caseinate
milk powder	quark	calcium caseinate
yoghurt	sherbet	whey
butter	ice cream	lactoglobulin
buttermilk	cream	lactose/lactate
curd	sour cream	lactalbumin
cheese	casein	lactoferrin
	rennet

Lactic acid and lactylate do not contain milk and therefore do not need to be avoided.

Egg Allergy

All products containing egg or components of egg must be avoided including:

albumen	frozen egg	ovomucin
egg	globulin	ovomucoid
egg powder	livetin	ovovitellin
egg white	vitellin	ovalbumin
egg yolk	Simplesse (a fat replacer)	ovoglobulin
egg protein	pasteurized egg	lecithin*
egg substitutes (eg. Egg	lysozyme	conalbumin
Beaters®)	meringue	most commercial baking powder
*Lecithin is a food additive. It can be made from eggs, soybeans or corn.  If the source of lecithin is not stated call the manufacturer.

Other sources of egg include: eggnog, omelette, custard, soufflé, quiche, egg noodles, mayonnaise, angel food cake, Caesar salad, some salad dressings, sauces such as Hollandaise, Béarnaise, and Newburg, battered foods such as fritters, pancakes, and waffles, egg whirl and wonton soup, candy made with egg such as nougat and divinity, candy brushed with egg white to give it a shine, some ice creams, cream pies, meringue pies, meringues, pavlova, and some packaged dessert mixes.

Corn Allergy

Products to be avoided include:

corn sugar	grits	popcorn
corn dextrose	hominy	tacos
corn syrup	maize	tamales
corn meal	masa harina	corn tortillas
corn flour	vegetable gum	nachos
corn starch	sorbitol	lecithin*

Other products that may contain corn include: commercial baking powder, breads, cookies, cereals, desserts may contain cornstarch while commercial gravies and sauces may be thickened with cornstarch.

Wheat Allergy

Restricted grains and flours include:
 

bulgur	wheat berries	kamut
couscous	wheat germ	semolina
cracked wheat	wheat bran	spelt
durum	wheat	triticale
farina	wheatena	gluten

Restricted flours, breads, cereals and crackers made from wheat include:

60% wheat bread	durum flour	protein flour
all-purpose flour	enriched flour	self-rising flour
bran	gluten flour	sourdough bread
bread crumbs	graham crackers	wheat germ
cracked wheat flour	graham flour	white bread
cracked meal	matzoh	whole wheat bread
cream of wheat	phosphated flour	starch (unless labelled cornstarch)

Peanut Allergy

Ingredients that indicate the presence of peanuts include:
 

peanut protein	mandalona nuts	peanut butter
mixed nuts	arachis/peanut oil	peanut flour
hydrolysed peanut protein	artificial nuts	goober peas
ground nuts	beer nuts	goober nuts
valencias

Beware of vegetable oil, such as hydrogenated vegetable oil and vegetable oil shortening, that does not specify the source of the oil (i.e. corn oil shortening).

Soy Allergy

Ingredients that indicate the presence of soy protein include:
 

emulsifiers	okara	unspecified sprouts
lecithin*	natto	vegetable broth
miso	kinako	vegetable gum
shoyu	mono-diglyceride	vegetable oil
sobee	soy nuts	vegetable paste
soy	soy oil	vegetable protein
soy albumin	soy protein	vegetable shortening
soy beans	soy protein isolate	vegetable starch
soy flour	soy sauce	textured vegetable protein (TVP)
soy milk	stabilizers	hydrolysed vegetable protein (HVP)
soy lecithin	soy sprouts	hydrolysed plant protein (HPP)
edamame	soy based infant formula	yuba
nimame	soya
kouridofu	tofu
	tempeh
	stabilizers

Tips when Dealing with Food Allergies

• Wash hands regularly to prevent cross-contamination when preparing foods.
• Use separate cooking equipment and utensils and keep work surfaces clean to avoid cross-contamination between foods.
• Read all food labels carefully. Ingredients in processed foods change over time.
• Become familiar with the terms on food labels which identify ingredients made from problem foods.
• Never assume that foods are free of a problem ingredient.
• If in doubt, do not use a suspected food or product.

Test Your Label Reading

These food labels have ingredients containing wheat, milk and eggs. Can you identify them?

 

Label A	Label C
BOLOGNA	CHOCOLATE BISCUITS
Ingredients: Pork, Beef, Water, Bacon, Flour, Skim Milk Powder, Salt, Spices, Sodium Caseinate, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrate, Smoke	Ingredients: Enriched Flour, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Blend of Vegetable Oils (Palm Oil and/or Hardened Rapeseed Oil and/or Hardened Soya Oil), Chocolate, Skim Milk, Butterfat, Salt, Golden Syrup, Egg Yolks, Refiner’s Molasses, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Leavening (Ammonium and Sodium Bicarbonate), Artificial and Natural Flavours
Label B
EGG NOODLES
Ingredients: Durum Flour, Dried Egg Yolk (Containing Sodium Aluminum Silicate), Colour

Answers:

Label A: wheat (flour), milk (skim milk powder, sodium caseinate)
Label B: wheat (durum flour), egg (dried egg yolk)
Label C: wheat (enriched flour), milk (skim milk), egg (egg yolks)

 

For more information contact:

Community Health Services, 160 Exmouth Street, Point Edward, Ontario, N7T 7Z6, 519 383-8331 or toll free 1-800-667-1839.

Allergy & Asthma Information Association of Canada, 111 Zenway Blvd., Unit 1, Vaughan, ON L4H 3H9, 1-800-611-7011, www.aaia.ca

References:

Managing Food Allergy & Intolerance – A Practical Guide. Janice Vickerstaff-Joneja. 1995.
Canadian Food Inspection Agency, www.inspection.gc.ca

Dated:  November 14, 2008