Soy in the United States: label rules and introduction guidance

Is soy on the FDA's list of 9 major food allergens?

FALCPA names soybeans, and FDA's Edition 5 guidance says 'soybean', 'soy' and 'soya' are all acceptable names for it on the label. Soy often arrives through ingredients with technical names, such as lecithin, which is why FDA uses 'lecithin (soy)' as an example of a correct declaration. Highly refined oils are specifically exempt from the definition of a major food allergen, so a highly refined soybean oil does not need a soy allergen declaration, although the ingredient list still names the source of the oil. A soybean oil that is not highly refined is treated like any other soy ingredient.

In the United States, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended by the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) and the FASTER Act, names nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. A packaged food has to declare each one either in parentheses after an ingredient, such as 'whey (milk)', or in a 'Contains' statement printed immediately after or next to the ingredient list.

• FDA: Food Allergies
• FDA: Questions and Answers Regarding Food Allergens (Edition 5, January 2025)

What CDC guidance says about introducing soy

CDC's advice for first foods is to introduce potentially allergenic foods when you introduce other foods. Its example list names eggs, shellfish, nut butters and wheat, and does not single out soy, so there is no separate US federal schedule for soy. The NIAID addendum covers peanut only. Your paediatrician can help you work out when and how soy fits your baby's first foods, particularly if your baby uses a soy-based formula or already has a food allergy.

US advice on first foods comes from several places. CDC's page for parents says to introduce potentially allergenic foods when you introduce other foods. For peanut specifically, an expert panel sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) published addendum guidelines in 2017. Neither replaces a conversation with your paediatrician about your own baby.

• CDC: When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods

Logging soy in the app

Set your region to the United States and the app's allergen schedule follows the FDA's nine. In the schedule, soy appears as Soy. 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 the food, such as tofu or soy yoghurt, rather than just 'soy', so repeat offerings are easy to line up. 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.