PREVRA Natasha's Law Checklist: Full Compliance with UK PPDS Allergen Labelling
A comprehensive checklist ensuring your pre-packed for direct sale products meet the full requirements of Natasha's Law. Mandatory for all UK food businesses since October 2021.
Why Natasha's Law changed everything for UK food businesses
Since 1 October 2021, all food that is pre-packed for direct sale must carry a full ingredients list with the 14 major allergens emphasised in bold. This applies to sandwiches made on site and wrapped, salads portioned in advance, cakes boxed at the counter — anything packaged before the customer orders it. The previous regime of verbal allergen information is no longer legally sufficient for PPDS food.
Counter-intuitively, the biggest risk is not getting the label wrong — it is inconsistency between what is on the label and what is actually in the product. If your supplier changes an ingredient and you do not update your label, you are legally liable regardless. This is why dynamic, ingredient-linked labelling is essential rather than static templates. The legislation carries criminal liability. Fines are unlimited.
Using this checklist for PPDS compliance
Work through the checklist for every PPDS product you sell. The first section confirms whether each product is actually PPDS — not everything wrapped is. If the product is packaged after the customer orders it, verbal allergen information is still permitted. If it is packaged before they order, full labelling applies.
The checklist covers ingredient list format, allergen emphasis requirements, cross-contamination risk statements, and record-keeping for ingredient changes. Digital SFBB includes allergen management tools that link your recipes to your labelling, so when a supplier updates a specification, your labels and allergen matrix update automatically.
Natasha's Law errors that put your business at risk
The most common failure is treating PPDS labelling like back-of-house allergen records — informal, handwritten, and inconsistent between shifts. The law requires formal labelling equivalent to retail pre-packed food. Second is assuming 'may contain' statements are optional — if there is a genuine cross-contamination risk, you must declare it. Third is failing to train casual and weekend staff on the difference between PPDS and made-to-order, leading to incorrectly labelled products leaving your premises.
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