What people mean by Natasha’s Law
“Natasha’s Law†is the everyday name for UK rules on food that is prepacked for direct sale (PPDS). From October 2021, PPDS food must generally show a full ingredients list with the 14 major allergens clearly emphasised (for example in bold).
This matters for many home bakers who pack cakes and bakes before the customer chooses them — including a lot of cake shed, honesty box, market stall and collection-style selling. Your exact duties depend on how you sell and pack food, so always check current Food Standards Agency (FSA) guidance for your situation.
What a PPDS-style label usually needs
In simple terms, a typical PPDS allergen ingredient label includes:
- The name of the food
- A full ingredients list
- The 14 major allergens emphasised where they appear in that list
You may also choose to add practical details such as best before, storage advice, and who made the product. Requirements and good practice can vary — treat official FSA guidance as the source of truth.
The 14 major allergens (UK)
UK food information rules focus on these major allergens:
- Celery
- Cereals containing gluten (e.g. wheat, rye, barley, oats in scope)
- Crustaceans
- Eggs
- Fish
- Lupin
- Milk
- Molluscs
- Mustard
- Peanuts
- Sesame
- Soybeans
- Sulphur dioxide / sulphites (at relevant levels)
- Tree nuts (e.g. almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamia)
Why home bakers find labelling hard
The slow part is rarely “designing a sticker.†It’s pulling accurate ingredient text off every pack — flour, chocolate, butter, decorations — then ordering the list correctly and making sure allergens are emphasised. Doing that by hand every time you change a recipe or brand of ingredient eats evenings.
How BakeSafe helps
BakeSafe is built for UK home bakers. You photograph ingredient lists on the packs you bake with (including bulk upload for a whole recipe), review the text, and build allergen ingredient labels as part of your wider food safety records. Your account syncs across devices so you are not stuck with labels saved on one phone only.