Allergen Labelling Compliance Guide

For the estimated two to three million people in the UK living with a food allergy, accurate labelling isn't a convenience — it can be the difference between a safe meal and a medical emergency. UK allergen labelling law reflects that seriousness, and food businesses that get it wrong face both legal consequences and, far more importantly, real risk to their customers.

The law behind allergen labelling: Natasha's Law

The most significant recent change to UK allergen labelling came into force on 1 October 2021, in the form of what's commonly known as Natasha's Law — the Food Information (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2019. It's named after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, a teenager who died after suffering an allergic reaction to a Pret a Manger baguette that, at the time, did not require full ingredient labelling because it was prepared and packaged on the same premises where it was sold.

Natasha's Law closed that gap by requiring Prepacked for Direct Sale (PPDS) food — food that's packaged on the same premises where it's offered to consumers, before being ordered or selected, such as pre-wrapped sandwiches, salads, or deli items — to carry:

• The full name of the food
• A complete ingredients list
• Clear emphasis (bold, italics, or a different colour) on any of the 14 legally recognised allergens present

The 14 allergens you must be able to identify

UK law requires these 14 allergens to be declared whenever they're present in food, regardless of whether it's PPDS, prepacked elsewhere, or sold loose:

Celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, soya, and sulphur dioxide/sulphites.

It's not just about labels — non-prepacked food matters too

A common misconception is that allergen law only applies to packaged food. In fact, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) requires allergen information to be provided for all food supplied by a business — sold or given away free, prepacked or loose — including meals served in a restaurant, café, or takeaway with no packaging at all. For non-prepacked food, this can be communicated verbally, but staff need to actually know the answer, and be able to give it consistently and accurately, every time they're asked.

What food businesses need to get right

Beyond the labelling itself, allergen compliance depends heavily on how a business actually operates day to day:

• Accurate, up-to-date allergen information for every dish or product, kept current as recipes and suppliers change.
• Staff who can answer allergen questions confidently and correctly, not just point to a printed label.
• Effective cross-contamination controls in storage, preparation, and service, since a correctly labelled allergen-free dish can still cause harm if prepared alongside allergenic ingredients without proper separation.
• A clear, honest response to "is this free from X?" — providing false or misleading allergen information is a criminal offence, whether the ingredient in question is one of the 14 legally declared allergens or not.

Why training is the part businesses most often underinvest in

Research following the introduction of Natasha's Law found real gaps in preparedness across the sector: four in ten businesses had never heard of the law shortly after it was introduced, and only around half of SMEs said they'd taken the necessary steps to prepare — with fewer still confirming they'd actually trained staff on allergen types and handling. Labelling is only as reliable as the people managing the process behind it, which is why the FSA's own guidance is explicit that food businesses must ensure staff receive training on allergens.

Getting your team allergen-aware

Virtual College's Food Allergy Awareness Training course covers the 14 legally recognised allergens, the requirements of Natasha's Law and PPDS labelling, and practical guidance on preventing cross-contamination and communicating confidently with customers — suitable for food handlers, kitchen staff, and anyone managing a team with food-related responsibilities. For more detail on the labelling requirements themselves, see our related article on new food labelling regulations.

If your organisation manages food safety training alongside other compliance requirements, a Virtual College training subscription gives you access to our full food hygiene and allergen course library alongside everything else your team needs to stay compliant.