Natasha's Law · PPDS
Natasha's Law and PPDS: what UK food businesses must label
Since 1 October 2021, food that you pack yourself before a customer orders it must carry its name and full ingredients list, with the allergens emphasised. The hard part is knowing which of your foods that is.
Checked against the official guidance on 18 September 2026
The rule in one sentence
For prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food, the FSA puts it plainly: businesses must “label it with the name of the food and a full ingredients list, with allergenic ingredients emphasised within the list”. The information has to be on the package or on a label attached to it.
Is your food PPDS? Three questions
- Was it packed before the customer ordered it? If it was packed at their request, it is not PPDS.
- Did your business pack it? Food packed by another business is ordinary prepacked food with its own full label.
- Is it sold where it was packed? On the same premises, on the same site (a shopping centre, an airport), or from a stall, van or marquee run by the business that packed it. That is the FSA's definition.
Three yeses: it is PPDS. The FSA also has an online decision tool.
14 real cases, sorted
| Food | Status | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sandwiches made in the morning and put in the chiller | PPDS | Packed on the premises before anyone ordered them. |
| Salad pots and pasta pots made on site | PPDS | Same: packed before being offered for sale. |
| Pies and sausage rolls baked and bagged on site, on the counter | PPDS | Bagged ahead of the sale by the business that sells them. |
| Burgers wrapped and kept under a heat lamp before the rush | PPDS | An FSA example: wrapped before being ordered. |
| Drinks poured and lidded before a busy period | PPDS | Another FSA example. |
| Free samples packed on site | PPDS | Free food is still covered. |
| Cakes packed at the bakery and sold from the same bakery's market stall | PPDS | Moveable premises run by the business that packed them. |
| A sandwich made to order and wrapped in front of the customer | Not prepacked | Packed at the customer's request: allergen information rules for loose food apply. |
| Cakes on the counter, sliced and boxed when ordered | Not prepacked | Packed at the customer's request. |
| A buffet or a counter of unwrapped food | Not prepacked | No packaging: loose food rules apply. |
| Crisps, cans and chocolate bars from a wholesaler | Prepacked | Packed by another business: they already carry full labelling. |
| Sandwiches bought in from a supplier and sold in your chiller | Prepacked | Packed by another business: the supplier's full label applies. |
| Food made in a central kitchen and sent to a different shop of the same business | Prepacked | Outside the FSA's PPDS definition (different premises, not the same site): full prepacked labelling. Check with your local authority. |
| Takeaway sold online or by phone and delivered | Not PPDS | Distance selling: allergen information before the purchase and at delivery instead. |
Examples drawn from the FSA's guidance for restaurants, cafés and pubs and mobile sellers. The central-kitchen case is our reading of the definition: confirm it with your local authority.
What the label needs — and doesn't
- Needed: the name of the food; the full ingredients list, including the ingredients of compound ingredients; the 14 allergens emphasised (bold, capitals, contrasting colour or underlining); text with an x-height of at least 1.2 mm (Article 13).
- Only for meat products: QUID, the percentage of the meat (PPDS labelling guidance).
- Not required for PPDS: net quantity, date marking and nutrition information. Many businesses add a use-by date for their own food safety system.
- Handwritten is allowed if it meets the size requirement.
The law in each nation
| Nation | Instrument | In force |
|---|---|---|
| England | Food Information (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2019, restated in 2022 as regulations 5A and 6A of the Food Information Regulations 2014 | 1 October 2021 |
| Wales | Food Information (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2020 | 1 October 2021 |
| Scotland | Food Information (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 | 1 October 2021 |
| Northern Ireland | Food Information (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 | 1 October 2021 |
Enforcement
Local authorities enforce allergen rules. They can serve an improvement notice (at least 14 days to comply) and prosecute. The penalty under the Food Information Regulations is a fine up to level 5 (regulation 11): unlimited in England and Wales since 2015 (LASPO 2012, s.85), £5,000 in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Allergen failures that make someone ill are prosecuted under other food safety offences too: in April 2025 a restaurant in Uxbridge was ordered to pay more than £40,000 after a customer was hospitalised.
Natasha's Law: common questions
Why is it called Natasha's Law?
It is named after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died in 2016 after an allergic reaction to sesame baked into a baguette whose packaging did not list it. Food packed on the premises was then exempt from ingredient labelling. The law closed that gap on 1 October 2021.
What are the three situations where food is PPDS?
Food packed by the same business that sells it to the final consumer, before it is offered for sale, and sold either on the same premises, on the same site (a building complex such as a shopping centre or an airport), or from moveable or temporary premises (a market stall, a van, a marquee) run by the business that packed it.
What is the fine for breaking Natasha's Law?
Failing to give the required allergen information is an offence under the Food Information Regulations. In England and Wales the maximum fine is unlimited; in Scotland and Northern Ireland the regulations set a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale (£5,000). Local authorities can also serve improvement notices.
Does Natasha's Law apply to home bakers and market stalls?
If you sell food you packed yourself before it was ordered — cakes in bags or boxes at a stall, for example — it is PPDS and needs a full label. Food packed at the customer's request is not PPDS.
Does PPDS food need a “may contain” warning?
Not by law. The FSA recommends precautionary allergen labelling only where a risk assessment finds a real risk of cross-contact that can't be removed, and never as a substitute for good hygiene.
Related: allergen information for food you don't pack · “may contain” labelling · the 14 allergens
Official sources
- Introduction to allergen labelling for PPDS food — Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK), updated 17 July 2026.
- PPDS allergen labelling changes for restaurants, cafés and pubs — Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK), updated 17 July 2026.
- PPDS allergen labelling changes for mobile sellers and street food vendors — Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK).
- Labelling guidance for prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food products — Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK).
- Food allergen labelling and information requirements: technical guidance — Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK), published 23 August 2023, revised March 2025.
- Allergen and ingredients food labelling decision tool — Food Standards Agency.
- Food Information Regulations 2014, regulation 5A — prepacked for direct sale — legislation.gov.uk.
- Food Information Regulations 2014, regulation 11 — penalties — legislation.gov.uk.
- Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, section 85 — legislation.gov.uk.
- Food Safety Act 1990, section 10 — improvement notices — legislation.gov.uk.
- Uxbridge restaurant fined more than £40,000 after allergen contamination led to customer being hospitalised — London Borough of Hillingdon, 30 April 2025.
- Prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) — Food Standards Scotland.
All sources opened and checked on 18 September 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.