Hidden Sources of Food Allergies

It is important to carefully read food labels to make sure you are choosing is not a hidden source of food allergies. Reading labels will help you determine if foods you are avoiding or rotating have been added to the product. This is very important for any food that has been processed and prepackaged or canned. other foods that are commonly incorporated into processed foods include egg, pork, yeast, wheat and peanuts.

The following list provides examples of some of the labeling terms used by food manufacturers for common allergenic foods:

Egg:  Vitamin, ovovitellin, lecithin, ovomucoid, and albumin

Milk:  Casein, caseinate, lactose, lactalbumin, whey and milk powder

Wheat:  flour, white flour, whole wheat, semolina, durum, triticale, couscous, tabouli,  bran, or modified food starch, gluten

Corn:  fructose, zein, corn protein dextrose, glucose, corn gluten, corn starch, dextrin, dexin, dextrimaltose, and corn alcohol (beer, bourbon, blended whiskeys, fortified       wines and many liquors); most caramel color is corn-derived

Pineapple:  Bromelain

Barley:  all purpose flour, barley flakes, barley flour, enriched flour, malt, malted barley

Beef:  gelatin, gelatin desserts

Papaya:  papain, meat tenderizers

Coconut:  MCT oils (medium chain triglycerides)