Like most food allergies, egg allergy is more common in childhood and about half the children who have it will grow out of it by the age of three. In a few cases, egg allergy can cause anaphylaxis.
The main causes of egg allergy are three proteins in the white of eggs, ovomucoid, ovalbumin and conalbumin. Cooking can destroy some of these allergens, but not all, which means that some people might react to raw eggs but not cooked eggs.
Since November 2005, food labelling rules require pre-packed food sold in the UK, and the rest of the European Union, to show clearly on the label if it contains egg (or if one of its ingredients contains it). Bear in mind that there could still be foods on the shelves that were produced before this date.
Occasionally someone might react to egg because they have an allergy to chicken, quail or turkey meat, or to bird feathers. This is called bird-egg syndrome.
