Guide
What counts as the same premises for PPDS?
PPDS involves food packed and sold by the same food business from the same premises or site — for example a café and its own fridge, or a trader’s market pitch. Different businesses or different sites change the analysis.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The short answer
PPDS involves food packed and sold by the same food business from the same premises or site — for example a café and its own fridge, or a trader’s market pitch. Different businesses or different sites change the analysis.
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
PPDS involves food packed and sold by the same food business from the same premises or site — for example a café and its own fridge, or a trader’s market pitch. Different businesses or different sites change the analysis. 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: Map each site.
- Same FBO packing and selling
- Same premises or site (including some stalls)
- Different retailer often means fully prepacked rules
- Ask your local authority for edge cases
Worked example
Worked example for “What counts as the same premises for PPDS?”: take one real SKU you sell this week. Apply the first check — same FBO packing and selling. Then contrast it with same premises or site (including some stalls). 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. (PPDS involves food packed and sold by the same food business from the same premises or site — for example a café and its own fridge, or a trader’s market pitch.)
Checklist before you print
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Same FBO packing and selling | For “What counts as the same premises for PPDS?”, “Same FBO packing and selling” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Same premises or site (including some stalls) | For “What counts as the same premises for PPDS?”, “Same premises or site (including some stalls)” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Different retailer often means fully prepacked rules | For “What counts as the same premises for PPDS?”, “Different retailer often means fully prepacked rules” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Ask your local authority for edge cases | For “What counts as the same premises for PPDS?”, “Ask your local authority for edge cases” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
Assuming a second shop can use the first shop’s PPDS logic unchanged
Map each site.
Go deeper
Next: What is PPDS food?. The two-part definition. Then paste your ingredients into the free generator and confirm allergens before you print.
Questions
Does a market pitch count as premises?
What about central production for several cafés?
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
Related guides
PPDS
PPDS vs prepacked food
Two similar words, two different sets of rules. A comparison table and the cases that catch people out.
5 min read
PPDS
What is PPDS food?
PPDS means prepacked for direct sale: food packed before the customer selects it, and offered by the same food business from the same pre…
6 min read
PPDS
Do market stalls need PPDS labels?
Yes, when you pack food before customers pick it and sell it from your stall. Bags of cookies, boxed brownies and sealed salad pots prepa…
6 min read