Guide
How to label food sold at farmers markets
If you pack food before customers choose it at your stall, treat it as PPDS: name plus ingredients with allergens emphasised. Loose trays bagged after selection usually need allergen information available another way.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The short answer
If you pack food before customers choose it at your stall, treat it as PPDS: name plus ingredients with allergens emphasised. Loose trays bagged after selection usually need allergen information available another way.
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
If you pack food before customers choose it at your stall, treat it as PPDS: name plus ingredients with allergens emphasised. Loose trays bagged after selection usually need allergen information available another way. 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: Food businesses at markets still follow food information law.
- Prepacked stall bags → PPDS
- Loose trays → information available
- Weatherproof, readable labels
- Same business, same pitch still counts
Worked example
Worked example for “How to label food sold at farmers markets”: take one real SKU you sell this week. Apply the first check — prepacked stall bags → PPDS. Then contrast it with loose trays → information available. 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 you pack food before customers choose it at your stall, treat it as PPDS: name plus ingredients with allergens emphasised.)
Checklist before you print
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Prepacked stall bags → PPDS | For “How to label food sold at farmers markets”, “Prepacked stall bags → PPDS” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Loose trays → information available | For “How to label food sold at farmers markets”, “Loose trays → information available” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Weatherproof, readable labels | For “How to label food sold at farmers markets”, “Weatherproof, readable labels” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Same business, same pitch still counts | For “How to label food sold at farmers markets”, “Same business, same pitch still counts” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
Assuming markets are informal so labels are optional
Food businesses at markets still follow food information law.
Go deeper
Next: Market stalls guide. Outdoor practicalities. Then paste your ingredients into the free generator and confirm allergens before you print.
Questions
Do I need a printer on site?
What about samples?
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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