Guide
What to put on a PPDS label besides allergens
For typical PPDS the mandatory core is the name of the food and a full ingredients list with Annex II allergens emphasised. Extra claims, nutrition and marketing lines are optional — never at the expense of the core.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The short answer
For typical PPDS the mandatory core is the name of the food and a full ingredients list with Annex II allergens emphasised. Extra claims, nutrition and marketing lines are optional — never at the expense of the core.
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
For typical PPDS the mandatory core is the name of the food and a full ingredients list with Annex II allergens emphasised. Extra claims, nutrition and marketing lines are optional — never at the expense of the core. 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: Legibility of mandatory information comes first.
- Name of the food
- Full ingredients list
- Allergens emphasised in that list
- Optional: business name, date marks, nutrition if you choose and rules require
Worked example
Worked example for “What to put on a PPDS label besides allergens”: take one real SKU you sell this week. Apply the first check — name of the food. Then contrast it with full ingredients list. 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. (For typical PPDS the mandatory core is the name of the food and a full ingredients list with Annex II allergens emphasised.)
Checklist before you print
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Name of the food | For “What to put on a PPDS label besides allergens”, “Name of the food” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Full ingredients list | For “What to put on a PPDS label besides allergens”, “Full ingredients list” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Allergens emphasised in that list | For “What to put on a PPDS label besides allergens”, “Allergens emphasised in that list” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Optional: business name, date marks, nutrition if you choose and rules require | For “What to put on a PPDS label besides allergens”, “Optional: business name, date marks, nutrition if you choose and rules require” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
Filling the label with marketing and shrinking ingredients
Legibility of mandatory information comes first.
Go deeper
Next: Natasha’s Law hub. What the pack must show. Then paste your ingredients into the free generator and confirm allergens before you print.
Questions
Do I need my address on every PPDS pack?
Can I omit ingredients that are “obvious”?
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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