Are Eggs Dairy?

Eggs have a lot in common with milk, butter, and cheese: They’re often white (and yellow), they come from farms, and they’re usually kept in a grocery store’s dairy section. All things considered, it’s no wonder that so many people assume eggs themselves are dairy. But are they?

1. What is dairy?
2. Why are eggs in the dairy section?

What is dairy?

No, eggs are not dairy. The exact definition of dairy depends on the context. Broadly speaking, it describes any product derived from the milk of a domesticated animal (and that milk itself). This category includes cheese, ice cream, yogurt, butter, sour cream, and so forth. The USDA has slightly different parameters that factor in the nutritional content of these items. Fortified soy milk, for example, falls under the USDA’s dairy umbrella because it “contains calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin A in amounts similar to cow’s milk,” per the USDA. However, the organization excludes cream cheese, sour cream, cream, butter, and other foods “that have little calcium and a high-fat content.”

Eggs, however, don’t fit in either bucket. They’re not made from milk; the ones we eat are unfertilized offspring of chickens (or other birds). Nor are eggs nutritionally similar to milk; they’re protein. Because eggs come from domesticated fowl, the USDA classifies them as a poultry product. But since the word poultry often refers specifically to meat from domesticated fowl—and eggs aren’t meat—that classification isn’t universally agreed upon. As Mickey Rubin, executive director of the American Egg Board’s Egg Nutrition Center, told TODAY.com, “Eggs are neither dairy nor poultry; eggs are … eggs.” Even the USDA seemingly acknowledges the gray area by naming the relevant section on its website “Poultry & Eggs,” rather than just listing eggs as a subsection of poultry.

All that said, it would be more accurate to call eggs a poultry product than a dairy one, since domesticated fowl are involved and milk isn’t.

Why are eggs in the dairy section?

As Parade explains, eggs may have ended up in the dairy aisle in part because there are strict food safety guidelines regarding their refrigeration (the USDA advises 40°F or below). So it’s logical that grocery stores would group them with other refrigerated foods, many of which are dairy. Not to mention that it used to be more common for farms to sell milk and eggs to grocery stores together. Plus, they’re two of our main culinary staples. As Rubin summed it up neatly to Parade, “It is likely that eggs are frequently grouped adjacent to dairy products in the refrigerated case at the grocery store for convenience, as these products are all considered household staples and require refrigeration.”

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