Understanding Natasha’s Law: What Every Food Business Needs to Know
For food businesses across the UK, food labelling has always been an important part of maintaining trust and safety. But following a tragic incident in 2016, the conversation around allergens became much more urgent. In response, Natasha’s Law was introduced—bringing with it new, legally binding requirements for food labelling that every food business must comply with.
So, what exactly is Natasha’s Law? Who does it apply to? And how can technology help you stay compliant while keeping your customers safe?
The Story Behind the Law
Natasha’s Law is named after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, a 15-year-old who suffered a fatal allergic reaction in 2016 after eating a baguette containing sesame seeds—an ingredient that was not listed on the packaging. The product had been made and packaged on-site at a food outlet, and under the laws at that time, it didn’t require full ingredient labelling.
The heartbreaking consequences of that gap in legislation led to widespread campaigning by Natasha’s family and the introduction of a new law designed to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.
What Natasha’s Law Requires From Hospitality Businesses
Natasha’s Law came into effect on 1 October 2021 and applies to all food businesses in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Under the law, any food that is pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) must now carry a full ingredients list, with emphasis on 14 specific allergens. This applies to items packaged on-site before being placed on display or sold to consumers—such as sandwiches, salads, baked goods, or wraps prepared in a café, deli, or takeaway.
The 14 allergens covered by Natasha’s Law that must be clearly indicated within an ingredients list, are:
Celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame seeds, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites (at levels above 10mg/kg or 10mg/L), and tree nuts.
These allergens must be highlighted within the ingredients list, typically using bold text, capital letters, or a different colour.
Who Needs to Comply with Natasha's Law?
This legislation affects a broad range of businesses—restaurants with grab-and-go counters, bakeries, delis, food trucks, cafes, schools, colleges, nurseries, hospitals, and more. If you sell food that is packaged on-site in advance, and it’s not made to order, it is likely classified as PPDS and must follow Natasha’s Law.
Failure to comply can result not only in legal penalties but also in serious reputational damage and potential harm to customers.
How Kitchen Management Technology Can Help You?
Complying with Natasha’s Law doesn’t need to be complicated. All Lolly EPoS and kitchen management systems can automate much of the allergen tracking and labelling process:
- Store allergen data for every menu item
- Display allergen info on self-service kiosks and customer-facing screens
- Provide real-time allergen alerts to kitchen staff
- Store allergens against user profiles, if selected to do so
By integrating allergen data across your systems, you reduce human error and ensure that every customer receives the information they need to stay safe. Lolly provides the tools to enable you, the vendor, to achieve this goal, but remember it’s still the customer’s responsibility to inform staff about any allergens they may have.
Final Thoughts
Natasha’s Law has reshaped the way food businesses approach allergen safety—and rightly so. While the law imposes stricter requirements, it also encourages transparency, accountability, and above all, care for the customers we serve.
Adopting the right tools and processes will not only ensure legal compliance but also show your customers that you take their health and wellbeing seriously.
Get in touch with Lolly to learn how our solutions make legal compliance simple and seamless.
