Guide
Allergens in egg wash
Egg wash is eggs. If you brush it on pastry, bread or a pie before you pack the product, egg is an ingredient and must be emphasised. Leaving it off because it is only a shine is a common reason a label is wrong.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The usual pattern
The wash is beaten egg, sometimes with milk or water. Milk in the wash is a second allergen. A yolk-only wash is still egg. A vegan glaze made from oil or syrup is not egg — and needs its own line if it contains anything else.
What to check in egg wash
| What you see | What it means on a PPDS label |
|---|---|
| Whole egg or yolk | Eggs |
| Milk added to the wash | Milk |
| Oil or syrup glaze | Not egg — check that glaze |
| Egg in the dough as well | Emphasise egg every time |
How to write it on the label
PPDS food needs the name of the food and a full ingredients list, with the 14 allergens emphasised every time they appear. The Food Standards Agency’s PPDS guidance is the practical reference. A typical ingredients fragment looks like this — yours must follow the specification of the product you actually use.
Example fragment
Wheat flour, butter (milk), water, egg.
Where it shows up
Sausage rolls, pies, pasties, challah, brioche and savoury muffins.
The pastry spec without the finish
The manufacturer’s pastry ingredients stop at the sheet. Your process step is part of the food you sell.
If a batch is packed without the wash, do not leave egg on that label.
Specification first
Brands differ. Treat this page as the usual pattern, then match the label to the tub, bag or recipe in front of you.
Questions
Does a thin egg wash count?
Is egg white wash still egg?
Official sources
Everything on this page traces back to these. Where they and we disagree, they are right — tell us and we'll fix it.
- Introduction to allergen labelling for PPDS foodFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Labelling guidance for prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food productsFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Food allergen labelling and information requirements technical guidanceFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK