Guide
Do nurseries need allergen labels on packed food?
Food businesses supplying packed meals to nurseries must provide accurate allergen information. Individually packed meals prepared ahead are often PPDS. Settings that only serve food cooked on site follow different information practices — contracts may still demand labels.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The short answer
Food businesses supplying packed meals to nurseries must provide accurate allergen information. Individually packed meals prepared ahead are often PPDS. Settings that only serve food cooked on site follow different information practices — contracts may still demand labels.
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
Food businesses supplying packed meals to nurseries must provide accurate allergen information. Individually packed meals prepared ahead are often PPDS. Settings that only serve food cooked on site follow different information practices — contracts may still demand labels. 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: A claim is not a substitute for PPDS particulars on packed meals.
- Packed meals prepared ahead are often PPDS
- On-site cooked service needs accurate allergen information
- Contracts may require nut-free statements — still list ingredients honestly
- Supplier specs for bought-in snacks must stay on file
Worked example
Worked example for “Do nurseries need allergen labels on packed food?”: take one real SKU you sell this week. Apply the first check — packed meals prepared ahead are often PPDS. Then contrast it with on-site cooked service needs accurate allergen information. 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. (Food businesses supplying packed meals to nurseries must provide accurate allergen information.)
Checklist before you print
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Packed meals prepared ahead are often PPDS | For “Do nurseries need allergen labels on packed food?”, “Packed meals prepared ahead are often PPDS” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| On-site cooked service needs accurate allergen information | For “Do nurseries need allergen labels on packed food?”, “On-site cooked service needs accurate allergen information” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Contracts may require nut-free statements — still list ingredients honestly | For “Do nurseries need allergen labels on packed food?”, “Contracts may require nut-free statements — still list ingredients honestly” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Supplier specs for bought-in snacks must stay on file | For “Do nurseries need allergen labels on packed food?”, “Supplier specs for bought-in snacks must stay on file” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
“Nut free” stickers without an ingredients list
A claim is not a substitute for PPDS particulars on packed meals.
Go deeper
Next: School packed lunches. Packed meals and allergen information duties. Then paste your ingredients into the free generator and confirm allergens before you print.
Questions
Do parent-provided lunchboxes need nursery labels?
What about snacks bought in bulk and rebagged?
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