Egg allergy is one of the most common food allergies in children, affecting about 2% of kids according to FARE. The outlook is encouraging. Most children outgrow it. FARE puts the figure at about 71% by age 6, and the ACAAI estimates about 70% by age 16.
Until then, families have to watch for egg in places where it is used in small amounts for its effect on how food looks or feels. The most common example is sitting on the bakery shelf: egg wash.
What Is Egg Wash, Exactly?
Egg wash is beaten egg, sometimes mixed with water or milk, brushed onto dough before baking. It gives breads and pastries a glossy, golden surface and helps seeds stick to the top. A loaf can be made from a completely egg-free dough and still carry egg on its crust.
Because it is a finishing step, egg wash often goes unmentioned on bakery menus and display cards.
Where Egg Hides
- Breads and pastries with a shiny crust. Challah, brioche, bagels, dinner rolls, croissants, and pie crusts are often brushed with egg. FARE specifically lists pretzels.
- Cocktails with a foam top. Whisky sours, pisco sours, and many classic "fizz" drinks are shaken with raw egg white to make the foam.
- Coffee drinks. FARE notes that some specialty coffee foams and toppings contain egg.
- Fresh pasta. Most fresh pasta is made with egg, while many dried pastas are egg-free. Check the package.
- Mayonnaise, aioli, and creamy dressings. Caesar, ranch, and many dipping sauces start with an egg base.
- Marshmallows, nougat, and meringue. Egg white gives these their airy texture, and meringue powder shows up in frostings and royal icing.
- Meatballs, meatloaf, and breaded foods. Egg binds the mixture or holds the breading on.
- Egg substitutes. Some commercial egg substitutes, including Egg Beaters, are made mostly from egg whites. The term "egg substitute" usually describes a lower-cholesterol product, so look for "egg-free" or "vegan" on the label.
Why It's So Easy to Miss
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It is used in small, invisible amounts. A brush of egg wash or a single egg white in a cocktail leaves no visible sign of egg.
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Egg has many technical names. Albumin, ovalbumin, ovomucoid, ovomucin, lysozyme, globulin, and vitellin all come from egg. US packaged foods must state "egg" plainly, but bakeries, bars, and restaurants follow different rules.
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Other birds' eggs count. FDA's 2025 labeling guidance defines egg as eggs from chickens, ducks, geese, quail, and other fowl, and asks labels to name the bird. People allergic to chicken eggs often react to duck or quail eggs too.
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Drinks follow separate rules. Allergen labeling on wine, beer, and spirits falls under the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, and it is still voluntary. Some wines are clarified with egg white during production. TTB proposed mandatory allergen labeling in January 2025, and as of this writing that rule has yet to be finalized.
Egg in Cheese and Medicine
Cheese. Some aged hard cheeses, Grana Padano being the best-known example, use lysozyme from egg white to prevent spoilage. One small study found very little lysozyme in the finished cheese and no reactions among egg-allergic volunteers. That is limited evidence, so ask your allergist before relying on it.
Flu vaccines. For years, people with egg allergy were told to be careful with flu shots because many are grown in eggs. Current CDC advisory committee recommendations say people with egg allergy can receive any age-appropriate flu vaccine with no extra precautions, regardless of how severe their past reactions were. The AAAAI agrees. The yellow fever vaccine is different. It is grown in chicken eggs and still carries a caution for egg allergy, so travelers should talk with an allergist first.
A Note on Baked Egg
About 70% of egg-allergic children can tolerate egg that has been thoroughly baked into foods like muffins, because heat changes the shape of some egg proteins. One egg protein, ovomucoid, holds up well to heat, and children who are highly sensitized to it are more likely to keep their allergy and to react to baked egg. Your allergist can use testing to judge whether trying baked egg makes sense.
How to Protect Yourself
- Ask bakeries whether a bread is brushed with egg, along with whether the dough contains it.
- Ask the bartender before ordering anything with foam, and stick to drinks you know are egg-free.
- Double-check pasta at restaurants, since fresh pasta usually contains egg.
- Read every label, every time, including on egg substitutes.
- Use ForkSure to check a dish or package for likely egg before you eat. ForkSure flags egg as one of the Big 9.
The Bottom Line
Egg does a lot of quiet work in the kitchen. It adds shine, binds ingredients, builds foam, and thickens sauces, and much of that happens after the main recipe is written. Asking about finishing steps such as egg wash, along with the ingredients themselves, catches most of what a label or menu will leave out. And for many children, the long-term outlook is good.
Stay safe, and when you need help, scan it with ForkSure.