Natasha's Law — the Food Information Amendment — came into force in October 2021, requiring full ingredient and allergen labelling on all food pre-packaged for direct sale. It changed the legal landscape for food businesses and for corporate buyers procuring catering for their organisations. Understanding what the law requires and how to verify that your caterer complies is a basic due diligence obligation for any London business providing food to its employees.
What Natasha's Law Requires
The core requirement is straightforward: any food that is pre-packaged for direct sale — that is, packaged and labelled before the point of sale for sale to the final consumer — must carry a label showing the full list of ingredients and highlighting the 14 mandatory allergens. This applies to any individually packaged item: a sandwich, a salad, a snack pot, a lunch tray.
The law is named after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died in 2016 after a severe allergic reaction to a pre-packaged baguette that did not declare its sesame content. Her death, and the campaign her parents led, resulted in legislation that has made pre-packaged food labelling mandatory in a way it was not before. The law exists because inadequate labelling kills people — a context that matters when evaluating how seriously a caterer takes their compliance obligation.
What This Means for Corporate Catering
Any caterer providing pre-packaged individual portions to London offices — Freedom Trays, sandwich boxes, salad pots, snack packages — is producing food that must comply with Natasha's Law. The label must include the full ingredient list (not just allergens) and the 14 mandatory allergens must be emphasised within that list (typically in bold).
Caterers providing catering in non-pre-packaged formats — serving from trays in a canteen, distributing from hot plates, platter-style catering where items are not individually packaged — operate under the "loose food" regulations, which require allergen information to be available on request rather than on a label. Both standards exist, but for most modern London corporate catering formats — particularly individual portions — Natasha's Law full labelling applies.
How to Verify Your Caterer's Compliance
Ask your caterer directly: "Do all your individually packaged products carry full ingredient labelling as required by Natasha's Law?" A compliant caterer will confirm this without hesitation and can demonstrate it with sample labelling. A non-compliant caterer may be vague about allergen information being "available on request" or claim that labelling applies only to certain products — these responses warrant further scrutiny.
Request a sample label or photo of a typical product label from your caterer. A compliant Natasha's Law label lists all ingredients in descending weight order and highlights each of the 14 mandatory allergens in bold within that list. Absence of any ingredient listing, or allergens listed separately without being embedded in the full ingredient list, suggests non-compliance.
The Employer's Legal Position
While Natasha's Law places the primary compliance obligation on food businesses (caterers), employers who provide catering to their employees have a duty of care to ensure that the food is appropriately labelled. Providing food from a non-compliant caterer to an employee who subsequently has a serious allergic reaction creates potential legal liability for the employer as well as the caterer. Due diligence on caterer compliance is therefore a basic risk management requirement, not merely a food quality consideration.
Vanda's Kitchen's Compliance
Vanda's Kitchen complies fully with Natasha's Law. Every product we produce carries complete ingredient and allergen labelling. Our labels list all ingredients in descending weight order and highlight all 14 mandatory allergens in bold within the ingredient list. This is not a legal minimum we aim for — it is a standard we built our production processes around from the beginning, because our founding ethos around allergen safety precedes the legal requirement.
We can provide our Natasha's Law compliance statement on request. Contact us for compliance documentation, WhatsApp us for quick queries, or read our Natasha's Law guide for food businesses and our allergy-friendly catering guide.
Why Choose Vanda Kitchen for Your London Office
Vanda Kitchen brings together the credentials that London most demanding corporate clients require: certified halal (verified by the Halal Friendly List), 100% nut-free kitchen, 5-star food hygiene rating, and Selfridges Food Hall quality. Freshly prepared daily from our EC4 kitchen near St Paul Cathedral. One caterer, all requirements covered. WhatsApp us, send an enquiry, or view our team lunch options. Read our complete corporate catering London guide.