Your guide to common food allergens

Even though food allergen labelling regulations have grown more strict in Canada, it can be confusing to wade through food labels to determine whether a particular food is in fact allergen-friendly. Here's a handy cheat sheet to help you spot common allergens in the ingredients of your favourite foods.

There are numerous ways that dairy finds its way into foods. Some of the most common include:

Casein: This term refers to milk proteins. Casein is commonly found in cheeses, protein supplements and products that contain cheese or protein powders.

Natural flavours: "Natural flavours" can be a bucket term referring to a combination of herbs and spices, some of which can contain milk.

Probiotics: Some probiotics, such as Lactobacillus, are grown on a dairy base.

Contrary to popular belief, lactic acid does not generally contain dairy.

Wheat can often masquerade under other names, making shopping confusing for gluten-free or celiac customers. Some common wheat ingredients include:

Processed wheat aliases: Wheat is often called by another name in processed foods. For example, bulgur, durum, spelt and kamut are all wheat.

Starch: Unless specifically marked as coming from a non-wheat starch, many starches are not gluten-free.

Despite the word wheat appearing in the word, buckwheat does not actually contain wheat and is gluten-free.

Some consumers find it hard to determine whether a product contains soya or soy. Some common ingredients include:

Monosodium glutamate (MSG): This chemical compound can contain soy.

Other names for soya: Tamari, tofu, natto, edamame and miso are all other names for soya.

Even though labels are getting easier to read, it's still up to the consumer to educate themselves and take caution when eating foods in restaurants and from other countries in order to avoid allergic reactions.