Food allergens and every name they go by

Where each one has to be declared

Sources: the FDA,¹ the EU’s allergen annex² and Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency.³

In the US, “may contain” warnings are voluntary.¹ Japan goes further and doesn’t allow a bare “may contain” at all. It recommends saying what else the factory makes instead.³

How US and EU labels show allergens, side by side.

Every allergen

• Other names for milk on a food labelWhey, casein, ghee and more: the names milk goes by on an ingredient list, the look-alikes that aren’t dairy, and how the US, EU and Japan require it to be declared.
• Other names for eggs on a food labelAlbumin, ovalbumin, lysozyme (E1105) and more: the names egg goes by on an ingredient list, and how the US, EU and Japan require it to be declared.
• Other names for fish on a food labelAnchovy, cod, fish sauce and more: the names fish goes by on an ingredient list, what the EU exempts, and how labels in the US, EU and Japan declare it.
• Other names for shellfish on a food labelShrimp, prawn, crab, lobster, crawfish and krill: the crustaceans a label has to name, and why clams and oysters are a separate allergen.
• Other names for mollusks on a food labelOyster, mussel, clam, squid, octopus and more: the names mollusks go by on a label. The EU requires them to be declared. The US doesn’t.
• Other names for tree nuts on a food labelWhich nuts count as tree nuts on a label in the US, the EU and Japan, the look-alikes that don’t, and what Revely flags.
• Other names for peanuts on a food labelGroundnut, arachis oil and more: the names peanuts go by on a label, what happens to peanut oil, and how the US, EU and Japan declare them.
• Other names for wheat on a food labelSemolina, durum, spelt, farina and seitan: the names wheat goes by on a label, what the EU exempts, and why buckwheat isn’t wheat.
• Other names for soy on a food labelSoya, soybean, edamame, tofu, miso, tempeh and soy lecithin: the names soy goes by, what refined soybean oil is exempt from, and how labels declare it.
• Other names for sesame on a food labelTahini, benne, gingelly and sesame oil: the names sesame goes by, how it’s declared inside “spices,” and when it became a US major allergen.
• Other names for sulfites on a food labelSulfur dioxide and E220 to E228: the names sulfites go by, the level at which they must be declared in the US and EU, and what sulfite-free claims mean.
• Other names for mustard on a food labelMustard, mustard seed, Sinapis and Brassica: the names mustard goes by, why a US label can call it “spice,” and where it must be declared.
• Other names for celery on a food labelCelery, celeriac, celery seed and celery salt: the names celery goes by, why celery seed can hide in “spice” on a US label, and where it must be declared.
• Other names for lupin on a food labelLupin, lupine and lupin flour: what lupin is on an ingredient list, and why EU labels must call it out when US labels don’t.
• Other names for buckwheat on a food labelBuckwheat, soba and Fagopyrum: what buckwheat is on a label, why it isn’t wheat, and why Japan requires it to be declared when the US and EU don’t.