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Gal d 1 ovomucoid (egg) IgE

Measures IgE to ovomucoid, the egg white protein that survives cooking, to help clinicians think about reactions to baked or cooked egg.

AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert reviewAlso called Gal d 1, f233LOINC 7557-2

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What it is

Ovomucoid, also called Gal d 1, is one of the main proteins in egg white. Unlike most egg proteins, it holds up to heat and to digestion, so cooking does not change it much. This test measures IgE antibodies to ovomucoid (ImmunoCAP f233). It is usually looked at along with the egg white IgE test, to give more detail about egg sensitization.

Why it matters

The egg white test alone cannot say whether someone reacts to egg that has been baked into foods like cakes and muffins. In studies, a very low or undetectable level of IgE to ovomucoid goes along with tolerating well-cooked egg. A higher level goes along with reactions to both raw and cooked egg, and with an allergy that is more likely to last. It is one piece of information. Your allergist also weighs your history and, often, a supervised food challenge.

If it’s high

A higher level means more IgE to ovomucoid. In studies, higher levels go along with reactions to heated egg as well as raw egg, and with an egg allergy that is more likely to continue. The number does not show how strong a reaction would be, and some people with higher levels still eat egg without trouble.

Common causes

  • An egg allergy that includes reactions to cooked or baked egg
  • Sensitization to egg without symptoms
  • A very high total IgE (above about 2,500 kU/L), which can cause a false-positive reading

What can help

  • Ask your allergist how this result fits with the egg white result and your history
  • Ask whether a supervised food challenge makes sense before changing what you eat
  • Check with your clinician before adding baked egg back to the diet or cutting it out

Usual ranges

What labs print as the reference range, by who was tested. Ranges differ a little between labs, so the range on your own report is the one your result is judged against.

For adults: 0–0.09 kU/L. Source: Mayo Clinic Laboratories, ARUP Laboratories, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

ImmunoCAP IgE classes (Mayo Clinic Laboratories wording)

  • Class 0: negativebelow 0.1 kU/L
  • Class 0/1: borderline or equivocal0.1 to under 0.35 kU/L
  • Class 1: equivocal0.35 to under 0.7 kU/L
  • Class 2: positive0.7 to under 3.5 kU/L
  • Class 3: positive3.5 to under 17.5 kU/L
  • Class 4: strongly positive17.5 to under 50 kU/L
  • Class 5: strongly positive50 to under 100 kU/L
  • Class 6: strongly positive100 and above kU/L

What can affect your result

  • It is usually read together with the egg white result, because the two are connected
  • How egg is prepared: ovomucoid stays intact when egg is heated, so cooking does not make it less allergenic
  • A very high total IgE (above about 2,500 kU/L) can cause false-positive results
  • The lab and test brand, because results from different systems are not directly comparable
  • A very high total IgE (above about 2,500 kU/L) can cause false-positive results through nonspecific binding (Mayo Clinic Laboratories).
  • Different labs and test brands give different numbers for the same blood sample, so compare results from the same lab and system.
  • Some labs reject hemolyzed, icteric or lipemic samples (ARUP).

Slow. It usually shifts over months to years, not weeks.

When to talk to a clinician

Call 911 or your local emergency number right away if any of these happen after eating egg or baked goods that contain it or a food that may contain it: trouble breathing, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, dizziness or fainting, repeated vomiting, or widespread hives. Do not wait for a lab result. For milder or past symptoms, talk with a clinician or allergist even if this result is in the usual range.

Questions you could ask

  • How does this compare with the egg white result?
  • How often, if at all, should we recheck this?
  • Does this result change what we know about my or my child's reaction to baked or cooked egg?
  • Would a supervised food challenge be something to consider?
  • My result is low. Could baked egg be tested safely, and how?

Questions people ask

Why was a Gal d 1 test added to my egg white test?

Egg white has several proteins, and they do not all behave the same way when egg is cooked. Gal d 1 (ovomucoid) holds up to heat, so IgE to it can help your clinician think about whether baked or cooked egg is likely to be a problem. Some labs add it automatically when the egg white result is above a set level.

If my Gal d 1 result is low, can I eat baked egg?

A low or undetectable level is linked in studies to tolerating well-cooked egg, but it is not a guarantee. Your allergist decides whether to try baked egg, usually with a supervised challenge. Please do not test it at home on your own.

Show the science and sources

For clinicians and researchers

Quantitative IgE to native Gal d 1 (ImmunoCAP f233), the 28 kDa trypsin-inhibitor glycoprotein of egg white, about 11% of its protein. It resists heat and enzymatic digestion. Reported as allergen-specific IgE by ImmunoCAP fluoroenzyme immunoassay in kUA/L, with calibrators traceable to the WHO IgE reference (IRP 75/502). The FDA-reviewed system has a limit of quantitation of 0.1 kUA/L and reports up to 100 kUA/L; its maker recommends a 0.35 kUA/L cutoff and tells each lab to set its own range (FDA review K173726). Mayo Clinic Laboratories calls ovomucoid the most clinically significant egg allergen because of that heat and digestion resistance. In the literature summarized by Thermo Fisher, higher Gal d 1 sIgE goes along with persistent egg allergy and reactivity to raw and extensively heated egg, and low or undetectable levels with tolerance of boiled, cooked or baked egg; Gal d 1 sIgE can help separate raw-only from cooked-egg allergy. Allergen-specific IgE shows sensitization, not clinical allergy (NIAID 2010), and published cutoffs vary by population, age and assay, so they do not replace a supervised oral food challenge. False positives can occur when total IgE exceeds about 2,500 kU/L (Mayo).

LOINC 7557-2 (primary), 112958-4. Specimen: serum.

Sources

  1. Ovomucoid, IgE, Serum (test ID OVMU), Mayo Clinic Laboratories
  2. Egg White Component Profile, Serum (test ID EGWTP), Mayo Clinic Laboratories
  3. Allergens, Food, Egg Components IgE (ARUP test 2013024), ARUP Laboratories
  4. Ovomucoid (F233-IgE Ovomucoid) (Labcorp test 602792), Labcorp
  5. ImmunoCAP Specific IgE (allergen component f447) 510(k) decision memorandum K173726, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  6. Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Food Allergy in the United States: Report of the NIAID-Sponsored Expert Panel, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2010)
  7. f233 Gal d 1 (Allergen Encyclopedia), Thermo Fisher Scientific (Phadia)
  8. Specific IgE antibody criteria for Japanese cedar, Uni-CAP method (Appendix 3, in Japanese), Ministry of the Environment, Japan
  9. Allergy Testing units (LOINC Community Forum thread), Regenstrief Institute, LOINC Community Forum

AI-verified against cited sources. Awaiting expert review. Last reviewed 2026-10-03. How we build and check these pages.

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