Ready for Natasha’s Law? Mark 1st October in your calendar – the law comes in to force in Northern Ireland

Ready for Natasha’s Law? Mark 1st October in your calendar – the law comes in to force in Northern Ireland

All product prepared onsite or in-store must be correctly labelled.

If you prepare fresh food on site – you must comply –“no ifs, no buts” – it’s the law.

The new law means that all food companies that prepare fresh food on site will have to clearly show the entire ingredient list of all of the products on sale to customers.

Protection for allergy sufferers

The legislation is intended to provide further protection for allergy sufferers, and give them confidence in the food they purchase. The new law requires more types of food to have potentially life-saving allergen information on the label.

The legislation is commonly referred to as ‘Natasha’s Law’ following the tragic death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse. The young woman died after suffering an in-flight allergic reaction to sesame seeds contained in a filled baguette. At the time, full ingredient labelling, including allergens, was not required by law.

14 declarable allergens

The label must have any of the 14 declarable allergens – celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, milk, lupin, molluscs, mustard, sesame, peanuts, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites, and nuts – clearly emphasised (for example in bold and underlined).

Pies, bakes and sausage rolls that have been baked and are then wrapped before being placed into a hot cabinet are classed as PPDS, along with sandwiches and wraps.

Abbey Labels have it all wrapped up

As a retailer, you will need to ensure your staff are informed, trained and compliant – and you will need to ensure all products prepared on site are compliant. if you need support, Abbey Label Systems have it all wrapped up. Abbey can guide you through the labelling requirements.

Abbey is the main distributor for FoodNutrix software, and can take you through the full process, and make sure you are fully supported and ready for the 1st October.