Egg Allergy

Egg allergy can be:

1. to all forms of egg (well cooked, loosely cooked and raw)
2. only to loosely cooked and raw egg

You only need to avoid the forms of egg that you react to.

Classification of egg containing foods

Well Cooked Egg
Cakes, Biscuits, Dried egg pasta, Egg in sausages prepared meat dishes, fresh egg pasta boiled for over 10 minutes, Egg glaze on pastry, Sponge fingers, Quorn, Nougat, milky way, mars bar, chewitts, Egg in some gravy granules.

Loosely Cooked Egg
Meringues, Lemon curd, Quiche, Scrambled egg, Boiled egg, Fried egg, Omelette, Poached egg, Egg in batter, Egg in breadcrumbs, Hollandaise sauce, Egg custard, Bread & butter pudding, Pancakes and Yorkshire pudding - some patients who can eat well cooked egg can tolerate these but it depends on how well cooked they are and if they contain any 'sticky' batter inside.

Raw Egg
Fresh Mousse, Fresh Mayonnaise, Fresh Ice cream, Sorbet, Royal icing (both fresh & powdered icing sugar), Horseradish sauce, Tartar sauce, Raw egg in cake mix and other dishes awaiting cooking (Children of all ages love to taste!), 'Frico' edam cheese or other cheeses containing egg white lysozyme. The fondant icing inside a Cadbury's cream egg

Add any other foods to this list that you are able to tolerate.

This is only a guide. Do check ingredients to ensure that you are:

• not excluding foods that are egg free
• not eating foods that contain egg

It is easy to avoid eggs that are served on their own when they look like an egg; however they are often disguised in prepared and manufactured foods.

Labelling

Since November 2005, manufacturered pre-packaged foods sold within the European Union have been required by Law to list egg in the ingredients panel where it is a component of the product, however tiny the amount. This means that if a product contains egg or any of the following egg derivatives the product will have be to labelled accordingly. Outside the EU labelling may not be as clear, so use the following list to help you when reading food labels.

• Egg/fresh egg (including those from all birds)
• Egg powder, dried egg, frozen egg, pasturised egg
• Egg proteins (Albumin, ovalbumin, globulin, ovoglobulin, livetin, ovomucin, vitellin, ovovitellin)
• Egg white, egg yolk
• Egg lecithin (E322)

Manufactured products likely to contain egg

Quiche and flans (fruit and savoury), cakes, (sponges and sponge fingers, trifle) some biscuits, choux pastry, pancakes, Yorkshire pudding, batter, meringues, lemon curd, some marshmallows, waffles, some confectionery, egg pasta, egg noodles, egg fried rice, pate, processed meats, sausages, processed fish and chicken products, mayonnaise, quorn products, marzipan and royal icing, ice cream, mousses, doughnuts, pies, Chocolate bars (eg Mars Bar, Snickers, Wagon Wheel), custard tarts, egg custard, cream caramels, pastry could be glazed with egg.

Vegetable burgers and other vegetarian products need checking.

Do read food labels as there are some items on the above list that may be egg free.

Some foods do not have a label eg delicatessen, bakery & butchery products. These foods should be avoided. This is particularly important if they are sold loose, as they may have been contaminated with egg by cross contamination.

Free from lists

Manufacturers and supermarkets produce a list of own brand products that are free from egg. These are available free of charge. They will help you to identify which foods are safe to eat and should make your diet more interesting and nutritious.

REMEMBER TO READ THE FOOD LABELS EVERY TIME AS INGREDIENTS OFTEN CHANGE.

Non-food items containing egg

These can be identified by reading the ingredients label. By law cosmetics, toiletries, perfumes and medications include a list of ingredients on their packaging. Where the labelling is in Latin, the words you need to look for are OVUM or OVO. However only avoid these if they caused irritation.

Egg Replacers

These have no nutritional value but are useful in cooking. Some whole egg replacers are available on prescription (ask your GP). Whole egg replacers and egg white replacers can also be purchased from your pharmacist or health food shop.

Whole egg replacers

• Whole egg replacer (Allergycare)
• Ener-G egg replacer (General Dietary)
• Loprofin egg replacer (SHS)
• No-egg replacer (Orgran)

Egg White replacer

• Loprofin egg white replacer (SHS)

Egg free substitute foods

These are available from healthfood shops some supermarkets and websites such as www.goodnessdirect.co.uk

• egg free mayonnaise (6 flavours)
• egg free cakes & muffins
• egg free omelette mix

Recipes / baking

• Recipes can be adapted using egg replacers or other ingredients
• Vegan recipes are all egg free by definition - invest in a vegan cookbook or get some recipes from the Vegan Society or a vegan website eg www.veganvillage.co.uk
• Egg free cookery books are available or try www.egglesscooking.com or www.allergycooks.co.uk
• Adapt cake, muffin and other baking recipes by using either egg replacers or a teaspoon of baking powder in place of each egg

Egg allergy and medication

Certain medicines may contain traces of egg and should therefore be avoided if you are allergic to egg. These are the yellow fever vaccine and the influenza (flu) vaccine. Many people ask if the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine should be given to those with egg allergy. This is considered to be safe but any concerns should be discussed with a specialist.

Written by Tanya Wright BSc(hons)MSc(Allergy). Allergy Specialist Dietitian July 2009