Food Labelling Requirements UK: What Every Small Producer Must Include

The label is a legal document

It's easy to think of your label as packaging design, the bit where you make your product look appealing on a shelf. Legally, though, your label is a regulated document, and getting it wrong isn't just untidy: incorrect allergen information can cause serious harm and lead to enforcement action or prosecution.

UK food labelling is governed mainly by the Food Information to Consumers Regulation (1169/2011), retained in Great Britain law, usually shortened to FIC. It sets out exactly what information your label must carry. Here's what every small producer needs to include and the rules that most often trip people up.

What "prepacked" means (and why it matters)

The rules depend on how your food is sold, so first get the category right.

1. Prepacked food is packaged before being offered for sale, in packaging that fully or partly encloses it, so the contents can't be altered without opening or changing the packaging. A jar of jam on a shelf is prepacked. This carries the fullest labelling requirements.
2. Prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) is food packed on the same premises from which it's sold, before the customer orders it. Think of a sandwich made and wrapped in the morning and sold from the same counter. Since Natasha's Law, PPDS food needs specific labelling.
3. Non-prepacked (loose) food is sold unpackaged or packed at the customer's request. Different, lighter rules apply, but allergen information must still be available.

Most small producers selling jars, bottles, baked goods, or packaged products are dealing with prepacked food, so that's the focus here.

Mandatory information on a prepacked label

Under FIC, a prepacked food label must carry the following:

• The name of the food - a clear, accurate description, not just a brand name.
• A full ingredients list - in descending order of weight, with allergens emphasised.
• Allergen information - any of the 14 allergens present must be emphasised in the ingredients list (typically in bold).
• Quantitative ingredient declarations (QUID) - the percentage of certain ingredients where they're emphasised or characterise the product.
• Net quantity - the weight or volume.
• Date marking - a "use by" date for perishable, higher-risk foods, or a "best before" for others.
• Storage conditions and conditions of use - where needed, for example "keep refrigerated."
• Business name and address - the name and a GB address of the food business operator. Since 1 January 2024, products sold in Great Britain must carry a UK (or Channel Islands or Isle of Man) address.
• Country of origin - where required, or where its absence would mislead.
• Instructions for use - if the food can't be properly used without them.
• A nutrition declaration - required for most prepacked food, with some exemptions that can apply to small producers.

That's the core checklist. Run every label against it.

Allergens: the part you cannot get wrong

Of everything on the label, allergen information carries the highest stakes. Under FIC, all food businesses must declare the presence of any of the 14 major allergens, whether used as an ingredient or a processing aid.

The 14 allergens are celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites (above 10mg/kg or 10mg/litre), and tree nuts.

On a prepacked label, these must be declared within the ingredients list and emphasised so they stand out, usually in bold, but it could be italics, underlining, or a contrasting colour. The key is that a customer scanning the list can spot the allergens easily. For cereals containing gluten, you must name the specific cereal, for example "wheat," not just "gluten."

A crucial point: allergens must be declared because they're in the recipe, not hidden behind a blanket "may contain." A "may contain" statement is voluntary, is only appropriate after a genuine cross-contamination risk assessment, and never replaces declaring allergens that are actually ingredients.

For the full picture on managing allergens across your operation, not just on the label, see our guide to allergen management and Natasha's Law.

Natasha's Law and PPDS

If you make food and pack it on site to sell directly, sandwiches, salads, cakes packed before the customer asks, you're dealing with PPDS food, and Natasha's Law applies. These items must carry a label showing the name of the food and a full ingredients list with allergens emphasised, just like prepacked food. This closed a gap that previously let freshly packed food be sold with less allergen information than a shelf product, and it exists because of a death that resulted from that gap.

The rules that catch new producers out

A few labelling mistakes appear again and again:

1. Forgetting to update the label when the recipe changes. Every recipe change must trigger a label review. A swapped ingredient can introduce a new allergen.
2. Under-emphasising allergens. Allergens listed but not visually emphasised is a common, serious error.
3. Missing or wrong date marking. Using "best before" on a food that needs a "use by" is a safety issue, not just a technicality.
4. No GB business address. Easy to overlook, and now a firm requirement for products sold in Great Britain.
5. Overusing "may contain." Slapping it on everything is bad practice and can mask the allergens you should be declaring properly.
6. Inaccurate ingredient order. Ingredients must be in descending order of weight.

Get your labels checked

Labelling law has genuine complexity, and the consequences of errors, particularly allergen errors, are serious. Use the FSA's labelling guidance, keep your product specifications and allergen information accurate and current, and review every label whenever a recipe changes. Many small producers also have their labels checked by their local authority or a specialist before going to print; it's worth it for the allergen declarations alone.

Keeping your recipe and allergen information accurate and in one place makes this far easier. FoodSafe holds your product and allergen information alongside the rest of your compliance, so when a recipe changes you have a single accurate source to update your label from, rather than reconstructing it from memory.

Accurate, every time

Your label is the most public, permanent statement your business makes, and legally one of the most consequential. Work through the mandatory list for every product, treat allergen declaration as the non-negotiable it is, keep labels in step with your recipes, and don't be shy about getting them checked. A correct label protects your customers, and it protects you.

Food safety compliance, handled.