Revely

Allergen

Other names for eggs on a food label

Egg hides in sauces, pasta, baked goods and even some cheeses. Here are the names to look for.

Sources checked September 26, 2026

Names that mean eggs

Look-alikes that aren’t eggs

What the law requires

United StatesA major food allergen.1 The FDA counts eggs from chickens, ducks, geese, quail and other fowl, and eggs from another bird should name it, as in “ovalbumin (duck egg).”2
European UnionOne of the 14 allergens: “Eggs and products thereof.”3 That includes lysozyme made from egg.
JapanMandatory (卵). Japanese labels may write it 玉子 or たまご instead.4

On labels in other languages

SpanishChineseJapanese
huevo, lisozima蛋、鸡蛋、溶菌酶卵、たまご、玉子

Egg in cheese

Lysozyme, E1105, is an enzyme made from egg white, and some cheeses and wines are made with it. It comes from egg, so under EU rules it’s one of the “products thereof” that has to be declared.3 It’s easy to miss on a cheese label, because nothing else on the list sounds like egg.

Sources

  1. US Food and Drug Administration. Food Allergies.
  2. US Food and Drug Administration. Questions and Answers Regarding Food Allergens, Including the Food Allergen Labeling Requirements of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (Edition 5), 2025.
  3. European Union. Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, Annex II, 2011.
  4. Consumer Affairs Agency, Japan. アレルギー表示について (Allergen labeling), April 2026, 2026 (in Japanese).

Every source above was checked against the published text on September 26, 2026.