Veg or non-veg symbol on cakes with egg?

Updated October 7, 2026 · Source: FSSAI Labelling and Display Regulations, 2020, regulation 5(4)

A plain-English summary, not legal advice. Minimum symbol sizes and exact colours are in the official text.

The two symbols

Veg: a green filled circle inside a square with a green outline. Non-veg: a brown filled triangle inside a square with a brown outline. The non-veg triangle replaced the older brown circle.

Cakes with egg

Egg counts as a non-vegetarian ingredient, so a cake made with egg carries the brown triangle. The regulation also lets you say that egg is the only non-veg ingredient, alongside the symbol, for example "Contains egg" near the mark. That helps buyers who eat egg but not meat.

Eggless cakes

An eggless cake with no other animal-origin ingredients (gelatin, some colours and additives are animal-derived) carries the green symbol. Many home bakers also print "EGGLESS" in large letters, because that's the word buyers search for. Check bought items like sprinkles, marshmallows and some jellies, which can contain gelatin.

Where it goes

Close to the product name on the front of the label, on a contrasting background, big enough to see at a glance.

More: full cake box label checklist · allergen "Contains" line. OvenTag prints 100 labels with the right mark for your product. Get notified.