Milk Allergy Diet for Children

General guidelines for milk allergy

The key to an allergy-free diet is to avoid giving your child the foods or products containing the food to which he or she is allergic. The items that your child is allergic to are called allergens.

A milk allergy is an abnormal response of the body to the proteins found in cow's milk. Milk allergy is most common among infants and young children. Milk and milk products are found in many foods. Obvious forms of milk are cream, cheese, butter, ice cream, and yogurt. Milk and milk products may also be hidden sources in commonly eaten foods. In order to avoid foods that contain milk products, it is necessary to read food labels.

Important information about avoiding milk and milk products

The words nondairy on a product label indicate it does not contain butter, cream, or milk. However, this does not necessarily indicate it does not have other milk-containing ingredients.
The Kosher food labeled pareve or parve almost always indicates food is free of milk and milk products. A D on a product label next to the circled K or U indicates the presence of milk protein. These products should be avoided.
Processed meats, including hot dogs, sausages, and luncheon meats, frequently contain milk or are processed on milk-containing lines. Carefully read all food labels.

Foods	Allowed	Not allowed
Beverages	Carbonated beverages Coffee Tea Soy substitute-milk formulas, water Fruit drinks	All milks (whole, low-fat, skim, buttermilk, evaporated, condensed, powdered, hot cocoa) Yogurt, eggnog, milkshakes, malts All beverages made with milk or milk products
Breads	Milk free breads French bread Wheat, white, rye, corn, graham, gluten, and soy breads made without milk or milk products Graham cracker or rice wafers	Wheat, white, or rye breads Biscuits, donuts, muffins, pancakes, waffles, zwieback, crackers, saltines, rusk Most commercially prepared breads and rolls contain milk or milk products French toast made with milk
Cereals	Any cereal to which no milk or milk products have been added	High protein cereals Prepared and precooked cereals with milk solids, casein, or other milk products added
Desserts	Meringue, gelatin, popsicles, fruit ice, fruit whip, angel food cake Cakes, cookies, and pie crusts made without milk or milk products	Cake, cookies, custard, pudding, cream desserts, or sherbet containing milk products Ice cream, cream pie Pastries brushed with milk, junket, popover
Eggs	Prepared without milk	Scrambled with milk, creamed eggs, egg substitutes
Fats	Vegetable oil, meat fat, lard, bacon, shortening, milk free gravy Peanut butter (made without milk solids) Margarine without milk solids Kosher margarine	Butter, cream, margarine Salad dressing or mayonnaise containing milk, milk solids, or milk products Some butter substitutes and nondairy creamers
Fruits	Fresh, frozen, or canned fruits and juices	Any served with milk, butter, or cream
Meats, fish, poultry, & cheese	Baked, broiled, boiled, roasted or fried: beef, veal, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb, fish, organ meats, or tofu (prepared without milk or milk products) Sausage, deli/luncheon meats, or ham if made without milk products Note: A small number of people with cow's milk allergy may develop a reaction to beef. Thus, those with cow's milk allergy should be careful when consuming beef or foods containing beef.	All cheese, cottage cheese, cream cheese Some sausage products, bologna, frankfurters Breaded meats, meatloaf, croquettes, casseroles, hamburgers (unless made without milk) Commercial entrees made with milk or milk solids
Potatoes & substitutes	Macaroni, noodles, spaghetti, rice White or sweet potatoes prepared without milk, butter, cream, or allowed margarine	Au gratin, buttered, creamed, scalloped potato or substitutes Macaroni and cheese Mashed potatoes containing milk or butter Frozen french fries sprayed with lactose
Soups	Bouillon, broth, consommé or soups with broth base plain or with all allowed foods	Bisques, chowders, creamed soups All soups made with milk or milk products
Sweets	Corn syrup, honey, jam, jelly Hard candy, candy made without milk or milk products Granulated, brown or powdered sugar	Candy made with milk, such as chocolate, fudge, caramels, nougat
Vegetables	All fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables without milk or milk products added All vegetable juices	Au gratin, buttered, creamed, or escalloped vegetables Batter and dipped vegetables Vegetable souffles
Miscellaneous	Catsup, olives, pickles, nuts, herbs, chili powder, salt, spices, condiments Any foods that are milk-, cheese-, or butter-free, or that do not contain powdered milk or whey	All items containing milk, cheese, butter, whey casein, caseinates, hydrolysates, lactose, lactalbumin, lactoglobulin or milk solids, artificial butter flavor Nondairy substitutes containing caseinate

How to read a label for a milk-free diet

Be sure to avoid foods that contain any of the following ingredients:

Artificial butter flavor
Butter, butter fat
Buttermilk
Casein
Caseinates (ammonium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium)
Cheese, cottage cheese, curds
Cream
Custard, pudding
Ghee
Half and Half
Hydrolysates (casein, milk protein, protein, whey, whey protein)
Lactalbumin, lactalbumin phosphate
Lactoglobulin
Lactose
Milk (derivative, protein, solids, malted, condensed, evaporated, dry, whole, low-fat, nonfat, skim)
Nougat
Pudding
Rennet casein
Sour cream
Sour cream solids
Whey (delactosed, demineralized, protein concentrate)
Yogurt

Other possible sources of milk or milk products

Brown sugar flavoring
Caramel candies
Caramel flavoring
Chocolate
High protein flour
Luncheon meats, hot dogs, sausages
Margarine
Natural flavoring
Simplesse