Guide
How to train staff on PPDS labels
Train staff to recognise PPDS packs, never to cover or alter labels, and to escalate recipe or supplier changes. A 20-minute induction plus a refresher when menus change prevents most “we ran out of labels so we used a marker” failures.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
Must-know points
- Which products are sold packed vs made to order
- Where master labels live and who may edit them
- Allergens cannot be guessed — check the system or pack
- If a label is wrong, remove the product from sale
A simple drill
Show one correct label, one missing egg-wash error, and one “may contain only” non-compliant pack. Ask staff which can go on sale.
Records
Note who was trained and when. Useful for your own standards and for officers.
Questions
Do temporary Christmas staff need training?
Should front of house read labels to customers?
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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