Information for businesses who sell food that is prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) to consumers.
Since 1 October 2021, food businesses in Scotland and the rest of the UK must clearly label prepacked food made on-site with the product name and a full list of ingredients.
This law helps people better understand what’s in their food, especially if they have allergies, by making ingredient and allergen information more visible on packaging.
Examples include:
The law offers increased protection and confidence for consumers living with a food allergy or intolerance in the food they buy out and about. On pack information will include the 14 allergens specifically listed in food information law, as well as other ingredients which can trigger reactions.
This new requirement follows wide consultation, including engaging with business and enforcement stakeholders, and consumers on improving allergen information, to help prevent further food allergy deaths in the out of home environment.
Local authorities will have the responsibility for enforcement for the new PPDS labelling requirements as part of their risk-based controls approach.
You must include the name of the food and the ingredients list with any of the 14 allergens required to be declared by law emphasised within it, if they are ingredients of the food. Allergens could be emphasised by:
If you're not sure how your business is affected by the requirements, answer a few questions below to find out.
Our guidance will help you check if your business is affected and what you need to do to meet the legal requirements.
Toolkit
We’ve also created a toolkit to help organisations share this information and support more food businesses with PPDS labelling across Scotland.
Download the toolkitBusiness tool
To support businesses with meeting consumer and legislative expectations, Food Standards Scotland has adapted its MenuCal tool with functionality to manage, store and track the information required for allergen labels for food sold prepacked for direct sale.
MenuCal for allergens