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Natasha's Law labels: what a PPDS label must show

Published 27 September 2026; rules last checked 25 September 2026. A labelling reference, not legal advice.

Natasha's Law is the rule, in force across the UK since 1 October 2021, that food prepacked for direct sale carries two things on its packaging or on a label attached to it: the name of the food, and the full ingredient list with the 14 allergens emphasised. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each made it in their own regulations, and the two duties are the same in all four.

What counts as prepacked for direct sale

The food information regulation takes food "prepacked for direct sale" out of its definition of prepacked food (Article 2(2)(e)) without defining the term, and Wales's regulations give it "the same meaning as in Article 2(2)(e)". It is read as food packed on the premises where it is sold, before the customer asks for it: boxed cakes on a stall, sandwiches wrapped in the morning and sold from the same counter. Two neighbours are not covered. Food packed on the premises at the customer's request, like a cake cut and boxed at the counter, needs the allergen information by other means (England's regulation 5). Food prepacked elsewhere carries the full set of particulars in Article 9.

What the label must show

1. The name of the food (regulation 6A). Article 17(1): its legal name, or where there is none, its customary name, or else a descriptive name.
2. The ingredient list (regulation 5A). Article 18(1): headed by a word that is or includes "ingredients", listing every ingredient in descending order of weight as recorded at the time of use. A compound ingredient sits at its overall weight, immediately followed by a list of its own ingredients (Annex VII, Part E).
3. The allergens, emphasised in that list (regulation 5A). Article 21(1): each of the 14 substances in Annex II, named as Annex II names it and set in a typeset that stands out from the rest of the list, such as bold. How to emphasise them has the detail.

The mandatory particulars must be legible: an x-height of at least 1.2 mm, or 0.9 mm where the largest surface of the pack is under 80 cm² (Article 13(2) and (3)).

An example label

The food tool's example recipe, a Victoria sponge with raspberry jam, printed by the same engine the tool runs:

Wheat, milk and egg are emphasised; butter carries "(milk)" because its own name does not name the Annex II allergen, and the jam, a compound ingredient, lists its own ingredients.

What it does not have to show

Article 44(1) makes the allergen particulars mandatory for food prepacked for direct sale and leaves the rest of Article 9, such as a date mark, a nutrition declaration or the net quantity, non-mandatory unless other UK regulations require them. The Natasha's Law regulations add the name and the ingredient list, and nothing more.

Small packs

On a pack whose largest surface is under 10 cm², the ingredient list may be given another way or on request (Article 16(2), which regulation 5A applies to the list only). The allergens stay on the pack: with no list there, Article 21(1) has them written as "contains" followed by the Annex II name.

Across the UK

In each, the ingredient-list duty applies only to food offered for sale otherwise than by means of distance communication, and the name need not be on the pack for such sales, so orders taken by phone, message or website follow other rules.

Common questions