Top Ten Food Allergies

Knowing the top ten food allergies can save you some heartache.  Most likely, if you have allergies, you'll have one or more of these allergies.

According to the U. S. Food and Drug Administration, the top 8 food allergies are considered "Major Food Allergens."

Although the F.D.A. only lists 8 allergens as the Major Food Allergens, it is good to know the top ten food allergies. In order of most common food allergy, here they are...

  1. Milk
  2. Eggs
  3. Fish
  4. Shellfish
  5. Tree Nuts
  6. Peanuts
  7. Wheat
  8. Soybeans
  9. Fruits or Vegetables like Tomatoes or Strawberries
  10. Sesame Seeds

I'd like to talk a bit more about three of these food allergies.  In addition to the 8 listed on the FDA's website, we learned that some fruits and vegetables are allergens because of a related pollen allergy.

Without more information about the related pollen allergy, I don't know why some people include fruits and vegetables or what types of fruits and vegetables are common food allergies.

Below are more details about three major allergies.

Milk

In the list of the top ten food allergies, Milk is at the top of the list.

Milk can be found in many forms, of coarse there is cheese, there is yogurt, there is ice cream, mashed potatoes have milk in them so there are a lot of things with milk. The most surprising thing I found milk in is spaghetti sauce. I didn't understand why milk is needed but it is something to watch out for. 

Milk is called several things that are not familiar. Some examples of what you would look for when you're looking for milk in ingredients would include milk, cream, yogurt, whey, buttermilk and butter. Gee is another name for butter so if you don't know what it is don't eat it. 

I found milk in pizza dough and also Parmesan in marinara sauce. Also, be aware of these places of milk.

Eggs

The next item on out top ten food allergies list is eggs.  Eggs are everywhere.


If you have something breaded, it's usually breaded with eggs and some kind of crackers or bread crumbs. Eggs are a basic ingredient with breadings.

Eggs are usually in cakes, cookies, breads, macaroni and cheese, sauces like mayonnaise and puddings and meringue.

Egg whites are used in cake sprinkles and cake design pieces. Egg whites dry to a hard surface so it makes decorating easy. Cake designs you can take off the paper and place on a cake is usually egg whites.

Eggs are used to make dishes creamy or thick for example some sweet potato casseroles or puddings. There is also a spaghetti carbonara that uses eggs in the sauce.

Eggs are used in meats like meatloaf and meatballs and any meat that's mixed together with other ingredients. I found egg whites in shrimp toast. The shrimp is mixed with egg whites to be able to stick to the bread.

Nuts are sometimes dipped in egg whites and then sugar or spices to make the spices stick so although it may be a minimal amount that is still egg whites.

Soy or Soybeans

My daughter was very surprised to find hydrogenated soybean oil in her deodorant. This is an example that anything you use on your body could also cause an allergic reaction.

Summary of Top Ten Food Allergies

As part of our review of the top ten food allergies, I hope that you understand that these food allergies are more like categories instead of unique food allergies. 

For example, fish refers to more than one type of ingredient.  It could be tuna, salmon, or another form of fish.  Much like milk, eggs and soy have many forms and can be used in different forms.


For more information on food allergies, please visit our home page.