Guide
Egg allergen labeling on US food packs
Egg as an ingredient must be named as egg on FDA packaged foods — whole egg, yolk, white, dried egg, albumin and many pastas and mayonnaise formulas. An egg wash on a sealed pastry is an ingredient of that pastry, not a garnish you can ignore.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The short answer
Egg as an ingredient must be named as egg on FDA packaged foods — whole egg, yolk, white, dried egg, albumin and many pastas and mayonnaise formulas. An egg wash on a sealed pastry is an ingredient of that pastry, not a garnish you can ignore.
Where this shows up in a real kitchen
US breakfast packs, brioche, aioli and fresh pasta are the usual misses. “Vegan mayo” is not egg; real mayo usually is. Liquid egg in a scramble kit is obvious; egg white powder in a protein cookie is not.
The US rule
Eggs are a FALCPA major allergen. Use the common name egg. FDA does not ask for “Gallus gallus”. Pasta that is egg pasta must not hide behind “wheat pasta” if egg is there. Restaurant omelets are not packaged-food labels; a sealed egg-bite pack in a grocer’s fridge is.
How to apply it
Read pasta, mayo, ice cream, pretzels and glaze specs. Declare egg. If you switch to an egg-free wash, reprint. Shared pastry brushes that always see egg are a cross-contact question, not a Contains: egg on a vegan bun unless egg is actually in it.
- Find egg in powders, washes and emulsified sauces.
- Name egg in the list or Contains.
- Keep vegan SKUs off leftover egg Contains lines.
- Train the pastry station that a wash is an ingredient of packed pastries.
Worked example
Sealed bacon-and-egg breakfast wraps: wheat tortilla, egg, cheese (milk), bacon. Contains: wheat, egg, milk. A vegetarian wrap on the same line without egg does not keep Contains: egg out of habit.
Checks that belong on this pack
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Egg wash on packed croissants is declared | The wash is not decorative under FALCPA. |
| Mayonnaise specs are read | Not all sandwich spreads are egg-free. |
| Fresh pasta lists egg when present | Color alone is not a declaration. |
| Albumin and lysozyme are mapped to egg | Technical names still mean egg. |
Calling it “breakfast wrap” and skipping egg
The product name is not a FALCPA declaration. Packed wraps still need the word egg.
What LabelClear can and cannot print
Paste the full wrap filling, including the wash. Confirm egg is marked before you print a US pack.
Questions
Are eggs from ducks different?
What about egg in wine fining?
Do I declare egg on a carton of shell eggs?
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.
- Food allergiesU.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA)U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Food Labeling GuideU.S. Food and Drug Administration
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