Natasha's Law — formally the Food Information (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2021 — came into force on 1 October 2021, following the tragic death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse in July 2016. Natasha, then 15, died from an allergic reaction to sesame seeds in a Pret A Manger artisan baguette. The baguette had no ingredients label because pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) food was not previously required to carry one. Her parents' campaign over five years resulted in legislation that has materially changed how food businesses must label their products.
What the Law Requires
Natasha's Law requires that all food pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) must carry a full ingredients list with the 14 major allergens emphasised — typically in bold, capital letters, or a different colour. PPDS food is food that is packaged on the same premises where it is sold, before a customer orders it — sandwiches made in the morning and wrapped for the cold cabinet, pastries wrapped and displayed for self-selection, any pre-made item that a customer can pick up without interaction.
This covers: bakeries, deli counters, cafés, sandwich shops, school canteens, hospital catering, workplace catering, and any other food business preparing and pre-packaging food for sale. It does not cover food prepared to order in front of the customer (which has different, non-mandatory labelling requirements) or food sold online or by distance selling (covered by different regulations).
The 14 Major Allergens That Must Be Declared
The allergens that must be emphasised wherever they appear in an ingredients list are: celery, cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats), crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecan nuts, Brazil nuts, pistachio nuts, macadamia/Queensland nuts), peanuts, sesame, soya, and sulphur dioxide and sulphites (at concentrations above 10mg/kg or 10mg/litre).
Practical Compliance
For food businesses, compliance requires: an accurate and complete recipe for every PPDS product; a labelling system that shows full ingredients in order of descending weight with allergens emphasised; a process for updating labels when recipes change; and staff training on the requirements and their rationale. The label must be attached to or placed with the food — a separate information sheet nearby is not compliant under the current regulations.
Many food businesses initially found compliance operationally challenging, particularly those with large and frequently changing menus. Digital labelling systems and recipe management software have developed significantly since 2021 to support compliance at scale.
Beyond Compliance: The Spirit of the Law
Natasha's Law establishes a minimum compliance standard. The spirit of the law — and the practical safety standard — goes further. Cross-contamination risk (from shared equipment, surfaces, hands, and airborne particles) is not addressed by labelling alone; it requires kitchen management practices and, ideally, structural controls like dedicated allergen-free preparation areas. At Vanda's Kitchen, our completely nut-free kitchen provides structural protection that no label can substitute for — the allergen is absent from the environment, not merely declared on packaging. This is the standard that genuinely severe allergy sufferers require, and the direction that best practice in allergen management continues to move.
What Customers Should Know
If you have a food allergy, Natasha's Law means you should now find clearly labelled PPDS food in compliant businesses. However, the label tells you what's intended to be in the food — not what might have entered through cross-contamination. "May contain" statements are voluntary and unstandardised. For severe allergies, the safest approach remains choosing businesses with structural allergen controls (dedicated allergen-free kitchens) rather than relying on labels alone in kitchens that routinely handle your allergen.
How Vanda's Kitchen Complies With Natasha's Law
Vanda's Kitchen has been fully compliant with Natasha's Law since its implementation in October 2021. Every item we produce carries complete ingredient and allergen information on its label — not as a legal minimum, but as a genuine commitment to the principle that people with allergies deserve to know exactly what they are eating. This commitment predates the legal requirement and reflects our founding values around allergen safety.
Our compliance extends across all formats — individual Freedom Trays, catering platters, event food, and retail items. For corporate clients procuring catering with Natasha's Law compliance requirements, we can provide documentation of our labelling practices and allergen management protocols. For more on allergen management in corporate catering, read our allergy-friendly catering London guide and our post on food allergies in the workplace. Contact us or WhatsApp us for compliance documentation.
Safe, Inclusive Food From Vanda's Kitchen
For Londoners managing food allergies and intolerances, Vanda's Kitchen near St Paul's Cathedral EC4 provides a genuinely safe food environment in the heart of the City. Our kitchen is 100% nut-free — no peanuts or tree nuts enter our facility under any circumstances — and our food is certified halal by the independently verified Halal Friendly List. Every item is labelled with full allergen information covering all 14 mandatory UK allergens, in compliance with Natasha's Law.
Our 5-star food hygiene rating confirms that our food safety practices are independently assessed and verified. Our Selfridges Food Hall presence confirms that our food quality meets the standards of one of London's most demanding food retail environments. For people managing serious food allergies, this combination of safety and quality is rare in the London food market. Visit us in EC4, order corporate delivery via our team lunch page, or WhatsApp us to discuss your requirements. Read our allergy-friendly catering guide for more.