Natasha's Law guidance: is your food business complying with Natasha's Law 2021?
Food businesses have had to adapt to stay afloat. Many have found new ways to serve meals but with adaptation comes the added challenge of complying with evolving food safety rules.
Innovation during uncertainty
Facing challenges the food industry has never seen before, many have stepped up to introduce alternative ways to keep their customers happy and business trading. From takeaway services to ‘cook at home’ kits, the response has been incredibly effective. Many in the industry can take something positive from this experience and create a brighter future for their business. However, the introduction of the Food Standards Agency's Natasha’s Law allergy regulation is now affecting more businesses than prior to the pandemic, making clear labelling more important than ever.
Natasha's Law checklist: what are the current rules?
There are millions of allergy sufferers in the UK, and that figure is thought to be rising. So food businesses need to be in the know about allergens and how they inform their customers about them. The list of food allergies and list of allergens UK customers need to be made aware of is clear, and displaying these correctly is a legal requirement, making accurate food labelling critical.
What is Natasha’s Law and who will it affect?
In October 2021, new legislation came into force known as Natasha’s Law. Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales are all impacted by the law, which states that foods that are made on site and pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) must have full allergen information on packaging, highlighted in bold or a different colour. Those restaurants now offering takeaways and pre-prepared meals for customers to cook at home will need to be aware of these new rules and follow them to the letter. Brother has a number of solutions that can help food workers label these key allergens more precisely, efficiently and cost-effectively to give your customers confidence and keep them coming back.
Discover how our labelling solutions can help you and your customers.
Understanding the list of allergens
Some of the food allergens included in the list are easier to identify, monitor usage of and highlight the presence of to your customers. But others may be more challenging - posing questions like - where is sulphur dioxide found in food? And what is lupin?
The list of 14 allergens can be found below:
- celery
- cereals containing gluten (such as barley and oats)
- crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs and lobsters)
- eggs
- fish
- lupin
- milk
- molluscs (such as mussels and oysters)
- mustard
- peanuts sesame
- soybeans
- sulphur dioxide
- sulphites (at a concentration of more than ten parts per million)
- tree nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts).
Allergen labels key to compliance
In these circumstances, keeping your business on the front foot can be tricky. Our helpful guide explores the best practices for food labelling, giving you tips and solutions that ensure you give customers a better experience. And with new food labelling regulations already in place, this guide will also ensure you stay on the right side of the law, so you can keep your customers safe and ultimately help your business flourish.
Ensure your labelling is in line with the latest changes in food labelling laws with Brother's range of label printers.
For in-depth, expert guidance on achieving and maintaining compliance with Natasha's Law, download our ebook here.
