Natasha’s Law labels: what UK food businesses must include

If you run a café, bakery, deli, sandwich shop or takeaway in the UK, Natasha’s Law almost certainly affects you. This guide explains what the law requires, who is in scope, and exactly what has to appear on a compliant label — in plain English, without the legal jargon.

What is Natasha’s Law?

Natasha’s Law is the common name for the UK Food Information (Amendment) Regulations, in force since 1 October 2021. It followed the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, a teenager who suffered a fatal allergic reaction to sesame baked into a baguette she bought pre-packed — at the time, that packaging did not have to list its ingredients. The law closed that gap: food that is prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) must now carry a full ingredient list with allergens emphasised, just like supermarket products.

Am I in scope? What counts as PPDS

Food is PPDS when it is packed before the customer orders it, on the same premises it is sold from (or from a mobile stall or van). Typical examples:

• Sandwiches, wraps and baguettes made and wrapped in the morning ready for lunch service.
• Salad boxes, pasta pots and grab-and-go items in a chiller.
• Boxed cakes, brownies and traybakes packed before sale.
• Pies, sausage rolls and pastries bagged or boxed ahead of time.

Food packed after the customer orders it (a sandwich made to order, a burger boxed at the till) is not PPDS — but you must still be able to tell customers about allergens verbally or in writing under the Food Information Regulations 2014. If you are unsure whether an item counts, the Food Standards Agency publishes detailed PPDS guidance, and your local Environmental Health team can advise.

Anatomy of a compliant PPDS label

Every PPDS label must show:

• The name of the food — clear and specific, e.g. “Chicken & pesto baguette”, not just “Baguette”.
• A full ingredient list — every ingredient, in descending order of weight, including the sub-ingredients of compound items (the flour, water and yeast in your bread; the nuts and cheese in your pesto).
• The 14 regulated allergens emphasised — wherever one of the 14 allergens (celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, and sulphur dioxide/sulphites) appears in the ingredient list, it must stand out: bold, capitals, italics or a contrasting colour.

Good practice also includes a “Contains” summary, a use-by or best-before date, storage instructions, and your business name — customers and inspectors both expect them.

Common mistakes that catch small businesses out

• Listing “pesto” without its sub-ingredients — the hidden pine nuts, cashews or parmesan are exactly what the law is there to expose.
• Writing ingredient lists from memory instead of supplier specification sheets — recipes and supplier formulations change.
• Printing a batch of labels and never updating them when a supplier substitutes an ingredient.
• Emphasising the whole ingredient list (so nothing stands out) or forgetting to emphasise allergens in sub-ingredients.

What happens if I get it wrong?

Allergen labelling is enforced by local authority Environmental Health and Trading Standards teams. Non-compliance can lead to improvement notices, fines and — in serious cases — prosecution. Far more importantly, an inaccurate label can seriously harm or kill an allergic customer. Accuracy is not paperwork; it is food safety.

How to make this manageable

The workload comes from repetition: every recipe change means rewriting labels, updating your allergen matrix and correcting your menu. AllerSafe removes the repetition — enter each ingredient once with its allergens, build dishes from those ingredients, and compliant PPDS labels, a 14-allergen matrix and a live QR menu are generated from the same data. Change an ingredient and everything updates together.

Try AllerSafe free for 14 days (no card required), or start with our free printable allergen matrix template.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Your business remains responsible for compliance — verify all allergen information against current supplier specifications and check the latest FSA guidance.