Guide
How to label sauces sold in pots
Sealed sauce pots packed before customers choose them are usually PPDS: name the sauce and list every ingredient with allergens emphasised. Watch mustard, egg, fish, soya, milk and celery in ready-made bases.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The short answer
Sealed sauce pots packed before customers choose them are usually PPDS: name the sauce and list every ingredient with allergens emphasised. Watch mustard, egg, fish, soya, milk and celery in ready-made bases.
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
Sealed sauce pots packed before customers choose them are usually PPDS: name the sauce and list every ingredient with allergens emphasised. Watch mustard, egg, fish, soya, milk and celery in ready-made bases. 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: PPDS needs a full ingredients list with emphasis inside it.
- Use the recipe or supplier spec, not memory
- Break out compound bases
- Emphasise allergens every time they appear
- Keep portion pots consistent with the master recipe
Worked example
Worked example for “How to label sauces sold in pots”: take one real SKU you sell this week. Apply the first check — use the recipe or supplier spec, not memory. Then contrast it with break out compound bases. 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 sauce pots packed before customers choose them are usually PPDS: name the sauce and list every ingredient with allergens emphasised.)
Checklist before you print
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Use the recipe or supplier spec, not memory | For “How to label sauces sold in pots”, “Use the recipe or supplier spec, not memory” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Break out compound bases | For “How to label sauces sold in pots”, “Break out compound bases” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Emphasise allergens every time they appear | For “How to label sauces sold in pots”, “Emphasise allergens every time they appear” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Keep portion pots consistent with the master recipe | For “How to label sauces sold in pots”, “Keep portion pots consistent with the master recipe” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
Writing only “contains mustard” on the lid
PPDS needs a full ingredients list with emphasis inside it.
Go deeper
Next: Allergens in mayonnaise. Egg and mustard in the most common pot. Then paste your ingredients into the free generator and confirm allergens before you print.
Questions
Do free sauce pots with a sandwich need labels?
What about open squeeze bottles behind the counter?
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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