Guide
How to label kids’ lunch boxes you sell
Sealed children’s lunch boxes packed before collection or sale are usually PPDS. Each component in the box must be reflected in accurate ingredients information — sandwiches, yoghurts and snacks.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The short answer
Sealed children’s lunch boxes packed before collection or sale are usually PPDS. Each component in the box must be reflected in accurate ingredients information — sandwiches, yoghurts and snacks.
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
Sealed children’s lunch boxes packed before collection or sale are usually PPDS. Each component in the box must be reflected in accurate ingredients information — sandwiches, yoghurts and snacks. 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: Particulars first.
- Label the packed meal as sold
- Include every component
- Watch mayo, bread and dessert pots
- Contracts may add nut policies — still list honestly
Worked example
Worked example for “How to label kids’ lunch boxes you sell”: take one real SKU you sell this week. Apply the first check — label the packed meal as sold. Then contrast it with include every component. 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. (Sealed children’s lunch boxes packed before collection or sale are usually PPDS.)
Checklist before you print
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Label the packed meal as sold | For “How to label kids’ lunch boxes you sell”, “Label the packed meal as sold” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Include every component | For “How to label kids’ lunch boxes you sell”, “Include every component” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Watch mayo, bread and dessert pots | For “How to label kids’ lunch boxes you sell”, “Watch mayo, bread and dessert pots” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Contracts may add nut policies — still list honestly | For “How to label kids’ lunch boxes you sell”, “Contracts may add nut policies — still list honestly” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
Sticking a cartoon sticker instead of ingredients
Particulars first.
Go deeper
Next: School packed lunches. Packed meals for pupils. Then paste your ingredients into the free generator and confirm allergens before you print.
Questions
Do parent orders change PPDS?
What about open fruit pots?
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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