View guidance on food allergens and labelling

All food businesses must provide allergen information on all food sold unpackaged; for example, in restaurants, cafés, hotels, pubs, deli counters, bakeries and sandwich bars. Labelling these ingredients in prepacked foods is also affected by this legislation.

The Food Information Regulations 2014 include food labelling requirements including:

• minimum font size on labels
• mandatory nutrition labelling
• a clearer indication of allergens in the ingredients list and the need to be able to tell consumers about allergen contents in non-packaged food
• extension to the rules for country of origin labelling

Food allergen labelling requirement from 1 October 2021

From October 2021, there were changes to labelling requirements for foods which are Prepacked for Direct Sale (PPDS - also known as Natasha’s Law.) These foods must be labelled with a full ingredients list, with allergenic ingredients highlighted in the list.

The new labelling requirements will help protect consumers by providing potentially life-saving allergen information on packaging.

Businesses must check whether their products require PPDS labelling and what they need to do to comply with the law. 

What is PPDS?

PPDS is food which is packaged at the same place that it is offered or sold to consumers and is in this packaging before it is ordered or selected.

What is the requirement?

Any business that produces PPDS food will be required to label it with the name of the food and a full ingredients list, with allergenic ingredients emphasised within the list.

Examples of PPDS that will need labelling:

• Sandwiches and bakery products which are packed on site before a consumer selects or orders them.
• Fast food such as cartons of chips or chicken nuggets in packaging and placed under a hot lamp.
• Products which are pre-packaged on site ready for sale, such as pizzas, rotisserie chicken, salads and pasta pots.
• Sliced meat pre-packaged by a butcher on the premises ready for sale to consumers.
• Foods packaged and then sold elsewhere by the same operator at a market stall or mobile site.

Where can I find out more?

The Food Standards Agency has produced an allergen and ingredients labelling tool. You can check if your business sells PPDS food and find out more about the different requirements for labelling.

If you require more information or do not understand the requirements, please contact Norfolk Trading Standards on 0344 800 8020 or email trading.standards@norfolk.gov.uk 

Further information

The Norfolk Trading Standards food information regulations page on the Norfolk County Council website is the first place to go to for information about these requirements.

The following sources may help you and your customers:

• Free e-learning courses for caterers, enforcement officers and consumers about general labelling provisions and allergen labelling.
• The Food Standards Agency has information on its website for consumers about food allergy and intolerance. It has also produced allergy guidance for industry to help food businesses promote, implement and comply with the regulations.