For some, food allergies cause minor symptoms that are easy to live with. But for others, they prompt severe allergic reactions that can be life threatening.

It may sound simple enough to cut certain foods out of a diet, but when it’s necessary to eliminate major foods like eggs, milk, soy, or wheat, the task becomes quite difficult. These foods can be hidden in everything from pancakes and breads to the casserole on the potluck table at church. Carefully reading ingredient labels is helpful, but the food industry doesn’t always list foods in a way that’s easy to understand.

Below are some common foods and how you might find them listed on a food label. Bring this along on your next trip to the grocery store. You’ll be surprised how much easier it is to avoid allergy-causing foods when you know what to look for!

Eggs

• Albumin
• Globulin
• Livetin
• Lysozyme
• Ovalbumin

Milk

• Casein
• Lactalbumin
• Hydrolysates
• Lacoglobulin
• Whey

Soy

• Hydrolized vegetable protein
• Miso
• Shoyu sauce
• Tofu
• Textured vegetable protein

Wheat

• Bran
• Cereal extract
• Farina
• Gluten
• Malt
• Spelt