Allergens

Food businesses must legally give information to their customers about the food they produce, sell and serve and the way this information is provided. You can find more information about labelling requirements on the Food Standards Agency website.

The regulations particularly cover how you give accurate information about allergens that are in the food you make, serve or sell.

We have produced a support pack for caterers and retailers, which can be downloaded below.

Providing information on allergens

Advice about how to provide accurate allergen information in different types of food businesses and resources to help you comply with requirements relating to allergens can be found on the Food Standards Agency website.

Allergen guidance for businesses

Allergen training for businesses

Pre-packed food for direct sale

On 1 October 2021, the requirements for pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) food labelling changed in Wales, England, and Northern Ireland. The new labelling helps protect your consumers by providing potentially life-saving allergen information on the packaging.

Pre-packed for direct sale or PPDS is food which is packaged at the same place it is offered or sold to consumers and is in this packaging before it is ordered or selected. It can include food that consumers select themselves (e.g. from a display unit), as well as products kept behind a counter and some food sold at mobile or temporary outlets.

Any business that produces PPDS food will be required to label it with the name of the food and a full ingredients list, with allergenic ingredients emphasised within the list.

Due to the changes in legislation, we have developed several guidance documents to help you determine if your business will be impacted by the changes coming into force, which you can download below.

For more information, please read Introduction to allergen labelling changes on the Food Standards Agency website. 

If you need more advice, please contact Environmental Health by email on environmentalhealth@sthelens.gov.uk