Allergen family
Seed Allergens
Seed Allergens are seeds proteins — including 2S albumins — that commonly trigger allergic reactions and appear on ingredient labels under many different names.
Also appears as
Case notes
Six ingredients sit under this family, and only one of them spells out the word most parents are scanning for. Sesame appears on labels as Til, Teel, or Gingelly — regional names that show up on imported snacks and spice blends — and sometimes as the botanical name Sesamum indicum in specialty or cosmetic-adjacent products. None of those words look like an allergen warning; they look like flavor descriptions.
The prepared foods are just as quiet. Tahini may be listed as tahina, sesame paste, or sesame butter. Halvah turns up as halva or halwa. Gomasio reads like a seasoning rather than a seed product, benne and benniseed are older names still used in regional baking, and sesamol has the shape of a laboratory additive even though it belongs to this same family. A parent reading quickly can clear a label without ever registering a seed.
The proteins behind reactions here include 2S albumins, storage proteins that are structurally similar across related seeds. Hedge mustard, part of the Brassicaceae family alongside mustard, cabbage, and rapeseed, has no officially characterized allergens of its own, but may share these structurally similar 2S albumins with other Brassicaceae seeds such as yellow mustard's Sin a 1 — a possible route to cross-reactive sensitization in someone already mustard-allergic. Because this family can cause contact dermatitis, respiratory symptoms, and in severe cases anaphylaxis, keeping a written list of the alias names is often more useful than trusting recognition in the moment.
Questions
Seed Allergens are seeds proteins — including 2S albumins — that commonly trigger allergic reactions and appear on ingredient labels under many different names.