In October 2021, the UK introduced one of the most significant changes to food labelling law in decades. Known as Natasha’s Law, this legislation was a direct response to a tragedy that highlighted just how dangerous unlabelled food can be for allergy sufferers.
If you run a restaurant, café, bakery, takeaway, or any food business that prepares and packages food on-site, this law affects you.
The Story Behind the Law
In July 2016, 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse bought a baguette from a Pret a Manger outlet at Heathrow Airport. The baguette contained sesame seeds baked into the dough — but because it was prepared and packaged in-store, it was legally exempt from allergen labelling at the time. Natasha, who had a severe sesame allergy, suffered a fatal anaphylactic reaction on the plane.
The inquest into her death revealed a critical gap in food labelling law. Pre-packed food made and sold on the same premises — called pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) food — was not required to carry a full ingredients list. Natasha’s parents, Tanya and Nadim Ednan-Laperouse, campaigned tirelessly for the law to change. In 2021, it did.
What Does Natasha’s Law Require?
From 1 October 2021, any food that is pre-packed for direct sale must carry a label showing:
- The name of the food
- A full ingredients list, with all 14 major allergens clearly emphasised (bold, underlined, or contrasting colour)
This applies across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Scotland has equivalent requirements under Scottish food law.
What is PPDS Food?
PPDS stands for Pre-Packed for Direct Sale. It means food that is:
- Packaged on the same premises where it is offered or sold
- Packaged before a customer orders or selects it
- A complete, single item ready for the consumer
Common examples include:
- Sandwiches, wraps, and baguettes made and wrapped on-site
- Salads, pasta pots, and meal boxes prepared and packaged in the kitchen
- Bakery items (pastries, cakes, muffins) wrapped before going on display
- Pre-portioned meat or fish packaged by a butcher or fishmonger on the premises
- Ready meals prepared and packaged on-site for a market stall or deli counter
What is NOT PPDS Food?
Not everything needs a label. The law distinguishes between:
| Type | Labelling Required? |
|---|---|
| PPDS food (packaged before ordering) | Yes — full label required |
| Non-prepacked / loose food (served after ordering) | No label, but allergen info must be available on request |
| Pre-packed food (made off-site, sealed packaging) | Already covered by existing law |
If a customer orders food and it is then prepared and packaged in front of them, it is generally not PPDS — it is non-prepacked. Allergen information still needs to be available, but a full label is not required.
The 14 Allergens That Must Be Declared
UK law requires the following allergens to be declared and highlighted on every PPDS label:
- Celery
- Cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats)
- Crustaceans (prawns, crabs, lobster)
- Eggs
- Fish
- Lupin
- Milk
- Molluscs (mussels, oysters, squid)
- Mustard
- Nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts)
- Peanuts
- Sesame
- Soybeans
- Sulphur dioxide and sulphites (at concentrations above 10mg/kg or 10mg/litre)
Any of these present in your food — even as a trace ingredient or processing aid — must appear on the label, highlighted in a way that stands out from the surrounding text.
Why 56% of Businesses Are Still Not Fully Compliant
A regional Trading Standards survey found that more than half of food businesses inspected were not providing full ingredient lists for their PPDS food. The most common reasons:
- Confusion about what counts as PPDS — many businesses don’t realise their packaged items fall under the law
- Manual processes — writing labels by hand is slow, inconsistent, and prone to error
- Recipe changes — updating labels every time an ingredient changes is a significant operational burden
- Staff training gaps — kitchen staff may not know which products need a label or what it must contain
The consequences of non-compliance are serious. Trading Standards officers can issue improvement notices, and businesses found to have caused harm through inadequate labelling face prosecution and significant fines.
How to Comply
Compliance boils down to three things:
- Identify all PPDS items in your operation — everything packaged before a customer orders it
- Document full ingredient lists for every product, including all allergens
- Print accurate labels for every item, every time
The challenge is that the third step — printing labels — is where most businesses struggle. Manual systems (handwriting, spreadsheets, generic label printers) are slow and create compliance risk every time a recipe changes or a new product is added.
Purpose-built labelling systems automate this process: a product’s allergen profile is set once, and every label printed from that point is automatically correct and compliant.
What Happens if You Don’t Comply?
Trading Standards has the power to:
- Issue improvement notices requiring immediate corrective action
- Prosecute businesses under the Food Information Regulations 2014
- Pursue civil liability claims if a customer suffers an allergic reaction
Beyond legal penalties, the reputational damage of a compliance failure — particularly one that harms a customer — can be catastrophic for a small business.
Summary
Natasha’s Law is clear: if you package food before a customer orders it, that food needs a compliant label. With more than half of UK food businesses still not fully compliant, the risk of Trading Standards enforcement is real — and the human cost of a labelling failure is even greater.
The good news is that compliance does not have to be complicated. With the right system in place, printing a fully compliant allergen label takes seconds.
LabelFood is a standalone labelling terminal for UK commercial kitchens. Every label printed includes all 14 allergens, automatically highlighted as required by Natasha’s Law. See how it works →
