Guide
Do farm shops need PPDS labels?
Yes for food you pack before customers choose it — own-bake cakes, sealed sandwiches, tubs of coleslaw. Bought-in branded jars keep their original labels. Loose produce follows different rules.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The short answer
Yes for food you pack before customers choose it — own-bake cakes, sealed sandwiches, tubs of coleslaw. Bought-in branded jars keep their original labels. Loose produce follows different rules.
Decide PPDS using the FSA packing-before-selection test, then put name and ingredients with allergen emphasis on packs that meet it.
How to apply it
Yes for food you pack before customers choose it — own-bake cakes, sealed sandwiches, tubs of coleslaw. Bought-in branded jars keep their original labels. Loose produce follows different rules. Decide PPDS using the FSA packing-before-selection test, then put name and ingredients with allergen emphasis on packs that meet it. Walk the product in front of you against the checklist below before you print. The mistake to refuse is: If you break down and reseal food for retail sale from your shop, check whether your new pack needs full particulars.
- Own-bake boxed goods are usually PPDS
- Deli tubs sealed ahead need ingredients lists
- Bought-in prepacked goods keep supplier labels
- Loose fruit and veg are not PPDS packs
Worked example
Worked example for “Do farm shops need PPDS labels?”: take one real SKU you sell this week. Apply the first check — own-bake boxed goods are usually PPDS. Then contrast it with deli tubs sealed ahead need ingredients lists. Write the name of the food and the full ingredients list from today’s recipe and supplier specs, emphasise every Annex II allergen each time it appears, and only then print. If the pack in your hand does not match that list, it is not ready for sale. (Yes for food you pack before customers choose it — own-bake cakes, sealed sandwiches, tubs of coleslaw.)
Checklist before you print
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Own-bake boxed goods are usually PPDS | For “Do farm shops need PPDS labels?”, “Own-bake boxed goods are usually PPDS” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Deli tubs sealed ahead need ingredients lists | For “Do farm shops need PPDS labels?”, “Deli tubs sealed ahead need ingredients lists” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Bought-in prepacked goods keep supplier labels | For “Do farm shops need PPDS labels?”, “Bought-in prepacked goods keep supplier labels” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Loose fruit and veg are not PPDS packs | For “Do farm shops need PPDS labels?”, “Loose fruit and veg are not PPDS packs” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
Repacking bought-in cheese without a new label
If you break down and reseal food for retail sale from your shop, check whether your new pack needs full particulars.
Go deeper
Next: Farm shops industry guide. Wrapped goods, hampers and own-bake packs. Then paste your ingredients into the free generator and confirm allergens before you print.
Questions
Do hampers need labels?
What about eggs from our farm?
Official sources
Everything on this page traces back to these. Where they and we disagree, they are right — tell us and we'll fix it.
- Introduction to allergen labelling for PPDS foodFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Labelling guidance for prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food productsFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Food allergen labelling and information requirements technical guidanceFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
Related guides
PPDS
PPDS vs prepacked food
Two similar words, two different sets of rules. A comparison table and the cases that catch people out.
5 min read
PPDS
What is PPDS food?
PPDS means prepacked for direct sale: food packed before the customer selects it, and offered by the same food business from the same pre…
6 min read
PPDS
Do market stalls need PPDS labels?
Yes, when you pack food before customers pick it and sell it from your stall. Bags of cookies, boxed brownies and sealed salad pots prepa…
6 min read