Guide
How to label cookies and biscuits for sale
Bags or boxes of cookies sealed before customers choose them need PPDS labels. Butter, egg, wheat and chocolate (often soya and milk) appear again and again.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The short answer
Bags or boxes of cookies sealed before customers choose them need PPDS labels. Butter, egg, wheat and chocolate (often soya and milk) appear again and again.
Write the ingredients list from the recipe and supplier specs, in descending order of weight, then emphasise every Annex II allergen each time it appears.
How to apply it
Bags or boxes of cookies sealed before customers choose them need PPDS labels. Butter, egg, wheat and chocolate (often soya and milk) appear again and again. Write the ingredients list from the recipe and supplier specs, in descending order of weight, then emphasise every Annex II allergen each time it appears. Walk the product in front of you against the checklist below before you print. The mistake to refuse is: If the assortment shares one pack, the ingredients list must cover what is actually in that pack.
- List every ingredient in descending weight order
- Break out chocolate chips
- Emphasise milk, egg, wheat and soya when present
- Do not hide nuts in “chocolate mix” wording
Worked example
Worked example for “How to label cookies and biscuits for sale”: take one real SKU you sell this week. Apply the first check — list every ingredient in descending weight order. Then contrast it with break out chocolate chips. 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. (Bags or boxes of cookies sealed before customers choose them need PPDS labels.)
Checklist before you print
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| List every ingredient in descending weight order | For “How to label cookies and biscuits for sale”, “List every ingredient in descending weight order” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Break out chocolate chips | For “How to label cookies and biscuits for sale”, “Break out chocolate chips” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Emphasise milk, egg, wheat and soya when present | For “How to label cookies and biscuits for sale”, “Emphasise milk, egg, wheat and soya when present” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Do not hide nuts in “chocolate mix” wording | For “How to label cookies and biscuits for sale”, “Do not hide nuts in “chocolate mix” wording” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
Using one label for mixed cookie boxes with different recipes
If the assortment shares one pack, the ingredients list must cover what is actually in that pack.
Go deeper
Next: Chocolate chip cookie example. Milk, wheat, soya and egg. Then paste your ingredients into the free generator and confirm allergens before you print.
Questions
Can I handwrite cookie bag labels?
Do bakery counter cookies on a tray need PPDS labels?
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
Food labels
Food label font size: the UK rules
1.2 mm x-height, 0.9 mm on small packs — and why x-height is not the same thing as font size.
4 min read
Food labels
Ingredients list order: how it works
Descending order of weight at the time of manufacture — what that means for a recipe you make by eye.
4 min read
Food labels
How to name food on a PPDS label
The name of the food on a PPDS pack must tell customers what they are buying — not only a witty menu title. Prefer a clear customary name…
6 min read