Allergies Food Allergies Common Types Food and Ingredients to Avoid on a Milk-Free Diet By Jill Castle, MS, RD Jill Castle, MS, RD Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Jill Castle, MS, RD, is a childhood nutrition expert, published book author, consultant, and public speaker who helps parents nourish healthy kids. Learn about our editorial process Updated on February 13, 2022 Medically reviewed by Jurairat J. Molina, MD Medically reviewed by Jurairat J. Molina, MD Facebook Jurairat J. Molina, MD, MBA is a board-certified allergist who has been practicing in field of allergy and clinical immunology for the past two decades. Learn about our Medical Expert Board Print Milk allergy is a common condition, particularly among children. Reactions range from difficulty breathing, wheezing, and throat tightness to urticaria and/or vomiting. Cultura / Luc Beziat / Getty Images Avoiding milk—and all products or ingredients made with milk compounds like casein—is essential if you suffer from this allergy. That's why manufacturers must include milk and milk ingredients on their product labels, as outlined in the Food Allergy Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA). The following voluntary statements indicate that food may be contaminated with milk: “May contain milk”“Product produced on shared equipment with milk”“Made in a facility that also processes milk” Food and Ingredients That Contain Milk It's straightforward enough to look for the word "milk" on a package, but milk can be turned into new foods, like ghee and lactoferrin. According to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University, it's important to look out for these foods and phrases on labels: Butter (including artificial butter and artificial butter flavor) Buttermilk Casein and caseinates (ammonium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium—certain vaccines like those for diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis contain casein) Cheese (including cottage cheese, cream cheese, imitation cheese, quark, and vegetarian cheeses with casein) Cream Curds Custard Ghee Half-and-half Hydrolysates (casein, milk protein, protein, whey, whey protein) Ice cream (including ice milk and gelato) Lactalbumin and lactalbumin phosphate Lactoferrin Lactoglobulin Lactose Milk (derivative, protein, solids, malted, condensed, evaporated, dry, whole, low-fat, nonfat, and skim) Nougat Recaldent (dental product) Rennet and rennet casein Simplesse (fat substitute) Sour cream, sour cream solids, and imitation sour cream Whey (acid, cured, delactosed, demineralized, hydrolyzed, powdered, reduced mineral, sweet dairy, protein, protein concentrate, powder, and solids) Yogurt (regular or frozen) and yogurt powder Ingredients That May Contain Milk In some foods, milk isn't the most obvious ingredient, as in certain baking flours or candy. For instance, "non-dairy" and "lactose-free" doesn't necessarily mean an item doesn't have milk-containing ingredients. Make sure to read labels carefully with the following products: Brown sugar flavoringCaramelChocolateHigh protein flourDeli meat, hot dogs, and sausagesMargarineNatural flavoring Hidden Allergens in Everyday Products 4 Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Wood RA, Sicherer SH, Vickery BP, et al. The natural history of milk allergy in an observational cohort. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2013;131(3):805-12. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2012.10.060 U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004. Stanford Children's Health. Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Milk Allergy Diet for Children. Kattan J, Konstantinou G, Cox A et al. Anaphylaxis to diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccines among children with cow’s milk allergy. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2011;128(1):215-218. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2011.04.046 By Jill Castle, MS, RD Jill Castle, MS, RD, is a childhood nutrition expert, published book author, consultant, and public speaker who helps parents nourish healthy kids. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Medical Expert Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit