Vegan food: What to be careful if you are allergic to milk and eggs

Vegetarians are not always perfectly safe for people with food in foods such as milk, eggs or fish, according to the British Food Authority. If you suffer from allergy to foods such as milk, eggs or fish, you should be especially careful with products intended for vegetarians. You should read their packaging very carefully as they may contain traces of the allergen that causes you trouble. This recommendation is addressed by the British Food Specification Authority (FSA), which launched a new information campaign in the United Kingdom, informing the public of the potential risks of careless consumption of vegetarian food. A trigger for this campaign was the findings of a recent investigation. 62% of food allergy participants stated that vegan foods “are always safe for consumption”. The campaign recommends that consumers always check the fine print on food labels. There is usually the expression “may contain traces.” and then some allergen. This may be due to contamination of food with an allergen during their manufacturing process. Its campaign is aimed primarily at those suffering from allergy to milk and dairy products, eggs, fish and seafood (e.g. shrimp, molluscs). “It is worrying that so many patients with an allergy to animal food believe fully in the safety of vegan products,” said Mrs Emily Miles, executive director of the FSA. “Unfortunately, the reality of food preparation means that there is a risk of cross-contamination of vegetarian products with animal-derived ingredients when produced in the same factory”. Last summer, analyses in the United Kingdom had shown that one third of the food promoted as vegetarians also contain animal origins. These were mostly eggs and milk. This causes concern about the effects on patients with food allergies.