Egg in the European Union: label rules and introduction guidance

Is egg on the EU's list of 14 allergens?

Annex II lists 'eggs and products thereof' as item 3, and there are no exemptions attached to it. That means egg used as a glaze, a binder or a clarifying agent all falls under the rule, and each must be emphasised in the ingredient list. The regulation does not define eggs by bird species the way the US FDA's 2025 guidance does, so the label rule simply follows the word eggs. For food with no ingredient list, the regulation's fallback is the word 'contains' followed by the allergen, for example 'contains egg'.

Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers lists 14 substances or products in Annex II. Article 21 requires each one to be emphasised in the list of ingredients through a typeset that clearly distinguishes it, for example by font, style or background colour. Where a food has no ingredient list, the label uses the word 'contains' followed by the allergen's name.

• EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex II (consolidated text)

What EFSA guidance says about introducing egg

Egg is the first of the four foods EFSA names in its conclusion, alongside cereals, fish and peanut. The 2019 opinion reviewed studies on egg specifically and concluded that allergenic foods like egg can be introduced when other complementary foods are introduced, adding that delaying them to a later age makes no difference to the risk of developing allergies. EFSA did not set a start date for egg; it says there is no single precise age at which all infants in Europe should start complementary feeding, because it depends on each infant's development. Your paediatrician can help you decide when your baby is ready.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reviewed about 300 scientific publications for its 2019 opinion on when complementary foods can be introduced. EFSA's opinion is scientific advice to EU risk managers; recommendations to the public are issued by the health authorities of each Member State, so the plan your paediatrician follows may come from a national guideline.

• EFSA: Appropriate age range for introduction of complementary feeding into an infant's diet (2019)
• EFSA: Age to start complementary feeding of infants (plain-language summary)

Logging egg in the app

Set your region to the European Union and the app's allergen schedule follows the 14 Annex II allergens. In the schedule, egg appears as Eggs. Each allergen entry moves from not started to introduced, cleared or reaction, and the 14-day window keeps new foods spaced out so a delayed reaction is easier to match to a food. Note whether the egg was cooked through or baked into something, since your doctor may ask. If you see a symptom, log it with its severity; the paediatrician report gathers the dates into one PDF for your next appointment. It is a record for you and your doctor, not a diagnosis.