A Closer Look at the Most Common Allergens

The top 9 allergens in the U.S are dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, nuts, wheat, shellfish, fish, and sesame.

Allergen	Applies to:	How common?	Found in:	Kids or adults?	Worst part of the allergen?
Dairy	cow’s milk and other animal milk (goat, sheep, etc.)	6.1 million Americans	cheese, yogurt, butter	mostly kids, typically outgrown	uncooked milk protein (baked milk is more tolerated)
Eggs	poultry eggs (fish eggs/roe are fine)	2.6 million Americans	egg white & yolk, mayonnaise, meringue	mostly kids, typically outgrown	egg whites (egg yolks and baked eggs are more tolerated)
Soy	soy beans	1.9 million Americans	Soy milk, edamame, soy sauce	kids, typically outgrown	soy beans
Peanuts	peanuts	6.1 million Americans	peanut butter, granola bars	both, typically lifelong	peanuts
Nuts	tree nuts (not coconut or seeds)	3.9 million Americans	almonds, cashew, pistachio, walnut, pecan, hazelnut	both, typically lifelong	tree nuts
Wheat	wheat	2.4 million Americans	cereal, bread, pasta	kids, typically outgrown	wheat
Fish	finned fish	2.6 million Americans	salmon, catfish, tuna	both	fish meat
Shellfish	crustacea and mollusks	8.2 million Americans	crab, crawfish, shrimp, lobster	both, typically emerges in adulthood	crustacea (mollusks are more tolerated)
Sesame	sesame seeds	0.7 million Americans	sesame oil, sushi, tahini	both	sesame seeds