Guide
How to label food for online collection
If packs are prepared before collection and meet the PPDS test, they need on-pack name and ingredients with allergens emphasised. Online menus can provide pre-order information but do not replace pack particulars on PPDS food.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The short answer
If packs are prepared before collection and meet the PPDS test, they need on-pack name and ingredients with allergens emphasised. Online menus can provide pre-order information but do not replace pack particulars on PPDS food.
Use the Food Standards Agency PPDS materials on GOV.UK for the core duty, then confirm awkward cases with your local authority.
How to apply it
If packs are prepared before collection and meet the PPDS test, they need on-pack name and ingredients with allergens emphasised. Online menus can provide pre-order information but do not replace pack particulars on PPDS food. Use the Food Standards Agency PPDS materials on GOV.UK for the core duty, then confirm awkward cases with your local authority. Walk the product in front of you against the checklist below before you print. The mistake to refuse is: The pack in the bag still needs PPDS particulars when the food is PPDS.
- Decide which SKUs are packed before selection
- Put particulars on the pack
- Provide allergen information at order time where distance rules require it
- Keep click-and-collect names matching the pack name
Worked example
Worked example for “How to label food for online collection”: take one real SKU you sell this week. Apply the first check — decide which SKUs are packed before selection. Then contrast it with put particulars on the pack. 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. (If packs are prepared before collection and meet the PPDS test, they need on-pack name and ingredients with allergens emphasised.)
Checklist before you print
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Decide which SKUs are packed before selection | For “How to label food for online collection”, “Decide which SKUs are packed before selection” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Put particulars on the pack | For “How to label food for online collection”, “Put particulars on the pack” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Provide allergen information at order time where distance rules require it | For “How to label food for online collection”, “Provide allergen information at order time where distance rules require it” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Keep click-and-collect names matching the pack name | For “How to label food for online collection”, “Keep click-and-collect names matching the pack name” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
Relying on the website alone
The pack in the bag still needs PPDS particulars when the food is PPDS.
Go deeper
Next: Distance selling. Pre-order and pack duties. Then paste your ingredients into the free generator and confirm allergens before you print.
Questions
Does photo confirmation of allergens count?
What if the customer edits the order after packing?
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
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