From October 2021, All foods produced & prepacked for sale at the same premises must be labelled with a full list of ingredients. This is in response to the UK Food Information Amendment (Natasha’s Law), aiming to protect allergy sufferers and give them confidence in the food they buy.
What is Natasha’s Law?
In 2016, 15 year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse ate an Artichoke, Olive and Tapenade Baguette, bought from a branch of Pret a Manger at Heathrow Airport. Unknown to Natasha, sesame seeds had been baked into the baguette, but not labelled on the sandwich packaging. Due to her sesame allergy, Natasha passed away shortly after eating the baguette, aboard a BA flight.
The coroner’s report clearly stated that Natasha had been ‘reassured’ by the lack of any allergen information when she purchased the baguette, and under the UK’s current Food Regulations 2014, companies do not need to individually label freshly-made, pre-packaged food. Instead, Pret a Manger displayed notices for customers to prompt staff with allergen queries. Shortly after, Natasha’s parents launched a lobbying group to campaign for stronger legislation to protect those with food allergies and give them greater confidence in the food they buy.
The UK Food Information Amendment, also known as Natasha’s Law comes into effect from October 2021 and will require all food businesses to label all food produced & packed for sale at the same premises, and display full ingredient list and allergen labelling on foods pre-packaged for direct sale. These changes will apply to businesses within England, Wales & Northern Ireland, with Food Standards Scotland expected to follow suit shortly.
Here at Dunsters, we take this amendment extremely seriously and have made significant changes to our procedures and software, ensuring we continue to be in line with UK Food Legislation but also ensuring our products are as safe as possible for consumers.
To help all our catering customers, we have also put together a handy Information sheet, including all the key information about the UK Food Information Amendment, what you need to do to comply and some tips on how to get your kitchen ready.
>> DOWNLOAD THE INFO SHEET HERE <<<
Catering Customers – Speak to us
Speak to our team about how Dunsters can help support you with the new legislation including improving your allergen matrix utlising our new software
Useful websites:
Natasha’s Law – UK Food Labelling Resource – Homepage (natashas-law.com)
Packaging and labelling | Food Standards Agency
The Food Information (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2019 (legislation.gov.uk)