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Kitchen deep cleaning - food safety law
Natasha's Law changed what food businesses must put on the food they pack and sell on their own premises - requiring a full ingredients list with allergens clearly marked, on the label, for food that previously needed none. If you make and wrap food to sell directly, it applies to you. Here is what Natasha's Law covers, what the term PPDS means, and what a busy food business has to do to comply.
The short answer
Natasha's Law, in force since 1 October 2021, requires food that is prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) to carry the name of the food and a full list of ingredients on the label, with the 14 major allergens emphasised within that list. PPDS is food that is packed on the same premises it is sold from, before the customer orders it - things like sandwiches, salads and baked goods made in-store, wrapped, and put out for sale. Before Natasha's Law, such food did not need a full ingredients label - allergen information could be given verbally - but now it must carry the name and full ingredients list, with allergens (such as milk, eggs, peanuts, sesame) emphasised in the list, physically on the pack. The law followed the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse from an allergic reaction to an unlabelled prepacked food. For a busy food business, complying means identifying which of its foods are PPDS and ensuring each carries a correct, full ingredients-and-allergen label.
What Natasha's Law requires
Natasha's Law is the common name for a change to food labelling law, in force across the UK since 1 October 2021, that requires certain food to carry full ingredient and allergen labelling that it did not need before. Specifically, it requires food that is prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) to carry, on the food's packaging or label, the name of the food and a full list of its ingredients - with the ingredients that are among the 14 major allergens emphasised within that list, so they stand out (for example in bold, italics, or a different colour). So for PPDS food, the label must now show what the food is, everything that is in it, and clearly which of those things are major allergens.
This was a significant change because, before Natasha's Law, PPDS food did not have to carry this labelling. Businesses selling PPDS food had no legal obligation to physically list the ingredients or allergens on the product, and could instead provide allergen information verbally when a customer asked. Natasha's Law removed that gap: now the full ingredients list with emphasised allergens must be on the pack itself, in writing, not merely available on request. So the law shifted allergen information for PPDS food from something a customer had to ask about to something clearly labelled on the product - a change aimed squarely at making sure people with allergies can see what is in the food they are buying.
What PPDS means
The key term to understand is PPDS - prepacked for direct sale - because it defines exactly which food Natasha's Law applies to. PPDS is food that is packed on the same premises from which it is sold, and packed before the customer orders or selects it. In other words, food the business makes and wraps itself, on site, and then offers for sale already packaged. Typical examples are sandwiches, salads, wraps and rolls made in-store and wrapped for a grab-and-go chiller; baked goods like pies, pasties and sausage rolls baked on site and then wrapped; and similar foods packaged on the premises ahead of sale. If the business packs it on site and sells it directly to the customer, prepacked, it is PPDS.
It helps to see what PPDS is not, to place it. Food made to order and handed over unpackaged - a sandwich made when you order it, a plated meal - is not PPDS (though allergen information is still required for it, in a different way). Food prepacked by a different business elsewhere and simply sold on - a branded packaged product - is not PPDS either, as it falls under the general prepacked labelling rules. PPDS sits specifically in the middle: packed by the selling business, on its own premises, before sale. That specific category is what Natasha's Law targets, because it was the gap - food that was packaged (so the customer could not easily ask about it at the point of choosing) but not labelled (because the on-site packer had no labelling duty). So identifying which of a business's foods are PPDS is the first step to knowing what Natasha's Law requires of it.
Why the law exists
Natasha's Law is named after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, a teenager who died from an allergic reaction after eating a prepacked food that contained an allergen - sesame baked into the dough of a baguette - which was not labelled on the product. Under the rules at the time, the prepacked-for-direct-sale food did not have to list its ingredients or allergens on the pack, so there was nothing on the product to warn her. Her death highlighted the gap in the labelling law: that PPDS food, which looks packaged and finished like any other packaged product, could carry no ingredient or allergen labelling at all, leaving people with allergies unable to see what was in it.
The law was introduced to close that gap - to ensure that PPDS food carries the ingredient and allergen information that lets people with allergies make safe choices, on the pack, where they can see it. Understanding this reason is useful for a food business because it frames what compliance is really about: not a bureaucratic label requirement, but making sure customers with allergies can see what is in the food and avoid what could harm them. Allergen mistakes can be fatal, as Natasha's death showed, so the labelling matters in the most serious way. For a food business, that gives the requirement its weight: getting the PPDS labelling right is a food-safety duty that can genuinely protect customers from serious harm, which is why the law is strict about it and why it is worth getting right.
What a busy food business must do
For a busy food business, complying with Natasha's Law comes down to two things: identifying which of its foods are PPDS, and ensuring each of those carries a correct, full label. The first step is to go through what the business makes and sells and identify the PPDS items - the foods packed on site before sale, which the law covers. This matters because the labelling duty applies specifically to those items, so knowing which they are is the starting point. It is worth being thorough, since a business may have more PPDS lines than it first realises - anything made and wrapped on site for sale counts.
For each PPDS item, the business then has to produce and apply a correct label showing the name of the food and the full ingredients list, with the major allergens emphasised. This requires knowing the full ingredients of each item accurately - including the allergens in every component - which means good information from suppliers and careful recipe knowledge, so the label is complete and correct. Getting the ingredients right is essential, because an incorrect or incomplete allergen label is worse than none, giving false reassurance. The business also needs a way to produce the labels practically and keep them accurate as recipes or suppliers change. So compliance is an ongoing operational matter: identify the PPDS lines, label each with accurate full ingredients and emphasised allergens, and keep the labels correct as things change. For a busy business this is a real task, but a necessary one - and one that, done properly, protects customers and the business alike. It also connects to wider kitchen practices like allergen management and cleaning to prevent cross-contamination, since accurate labelling only helps if the food actually matches the label.
The takeaway
Natasha's Law, in force since 1 October 2021, requires prepacked-for-direct-sale (PPDS) food to carry the name of the food and a full ingredients list on the label, with the 14 major allergens emphasised within it. PPDS is food packed on the same premises it is sold from, before the customer orders - sandwiches, salads and baked goods made in-store, wrapped, and put out for sale. Before the law, such food needed no ingredients label and allergen information could be given verbally; now the full labelling must be on the pack. The law followed the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse from an unlabelled allergen in a prepacked food, and exists to let people with allergies see what is in the food they buy.
For a busy food business, complying means identifying which of its foods are PPDS - the items packed on site before sale - and ensuring each carries a correct label with the full ingredients and emphasised allergens, kept accurate as recipes and suppliers change. This needs accurate ingredient information and a practical way to produce and maintain the labels. It is a real operational task, but a serious food-safety duty: allergen mistakes can be fatal, so getting the labelling right genuinely protects customers. And it connects to wider allergen management and cleaning to prevent cross-contamination, since a label only protects if the food matches it. So the essence of Natasha's Law for a food business is simple to state: label what you pack on site to sell, fully and accurately, with the allergens clear.
Questions
A food labelling law, in force since 1 October 2021, that requires food prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) to carry the name of the food and a full ingredients list on the label, with the 14 major allergens emphasised. Before it, PPDS food needed no ingredients label and allergen information could be given verbally - now the full labelling must be physically on the pack.
Prepacked for direct sale - food packed on the same premises it is sold from, before the customer orders it. Examples are sandwiches, salads and wraps made in-store and wrapped for a chiller, and baked goods like pies and sausage rolls baked on site and wrapped. If the business packs it on site and sells it directly, prepacked, it is PPDS and Natasha's Law applies.
Food made to order and handed over unpackaged - a sandwich made when you order it, a plated meal - is not PPDS, though allergen information is still required for it in a different way. And food prepacked by another business elsewhere and simply sold on is not PPDS either. PPDS is specifically food packed by the selling business, on its own premises, before sale.
After the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, a teenager who died from an allergic reaction to sesame baked into a prepacked baguette that was not labelled on the product. Her death highlighted that PPDS food could carry no ingredient or allergen labelling, leaving people with allergies unable to see what was in it. The law closed that gap so PPDS food carries the information on the pack.
Two things: identify which of its foods are PPDS - the items packed on site before sale - and ensure each carries a correct label with the full ingredients list and the major allergens emphasised. This needs accurate ingredient information from suppliers and recipes, and a practical way to produce and maintain the labels as things change.
Accurate labelling only protects customers if the food actually matches the label - which depends on preventing allergen cross-contamination in the kitchen. So Natasha's Law connects to wider allergen management and to cleaning that removes residue and prevents cross-contamination between foods. A correct label and clean, controlled preparation work together to keep allergic customers safe.
Accurate allergen labelling only protects customers if the food matches the label - our deep cleaning supports allergen management by removing residue and preventing the cross-contamination labels cannot catch.
