Guide
How to label soup for the fridge
Sealed soup pots packed before customers choose them need a PPDS label: clear name, full ingredients in weight order, allergens emphasised. Stock cubes, cream and bread croutons are the usual traps.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The short answer
Sealed soup pots packed before customers choose them need a PPDS label: clear name, full ingredients in weight order, allergens emphasised. Stock cubes, cream and bread croutons are the usual traps.
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 soup pots packed before customers choose them need a PPDS label: clear name, full ingredients in weight order, allergens emphasised. Stock cubes, cream and bread croutons are the usual traps. 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: Different batches mean different ingredients.
- Name the soup honestly (chicken and vegetable, not “chef’s special” alone)
- List stock, dairy and thickeners
- Declare croutons or toppings packed in the pot
- Reprint when the batch recipe changes
Worked example
Worked example for “How to label soup for the fridge”: take one real SKU you sell this week. Apply the first check — name the soup honestly (chicken and vegetable, not “chef’s special” alone). Then contrast it with list stock, dairy and thickeners. 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 soup pots packed before customers choose them need a PPDS label: clear name, full ingredients in weight order, allergens emphasised.)
Checklist before you print
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Name the soup honestly (chicken and vegetable, not “chef’s special” alone) | For “How to label soup for the fridge”, “Name the soup honestly (chicken and vegetable, not “chef’s special” alone)” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| List stock, dairy and thickeners | For “How to label soup for the fridge”, “List stock, dairy and thickeners” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Declare croutons or toppings packed in the pot | For “How to label soup for the fridge”, “Declare croutons or toppings packed in the pot” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Reprint when the batch recipe changes | For “How to label soup for the fridge”, “Reprint when the batch recipe changes” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
Using the same label for every soup of the week
Different batches mean different ingredients.
Go deeper
Next: Allergens in stock cubes. Celery, gluten cereals, milk and soya hide here. Then paste your ingredients into the free generator and confirm allergens before you print.
Questions
Do I need nutrition on soup pots?
What about soup served from a kettle to order?
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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