From 1st October 2021 it will be essential for all food business operators to label the foods prepacked for direct sale with a complete list of ingredients. This will come into play as part of the Food Information Regulations and has become known as Natasha’s Law. This is the latest food labeling legislation implemented in the United Kingdom.
Understanding the Natasha’s Law
In July 2016, a 15-year old girl ate a baguette, which was purchased from a restaurant located inside Heathrow Airport. She had an allergy to sesame seeds. However, the baguette had sesame seeds baked into it. Natasha consumed the baguette without knowing. As a result, she died due to anaphylaxis.
Along with this tragedy, it was made clear that all the businesses in the food industry should clearly label all the ingredients included in their foods. If the restaurant that served baguette to Natasha has done so Natasha’s death could have been prevented.
Existing food regulations in the United Kingdom stop short of labelling foods produced freshly on the premises, packaged or not. Food businesses are required to ensure that consumers are presented with or are able to find out if any food contains allergens.
From 1st October 2021, all the food that is pre-packaged for direct sale must list the ingredients clearly on food labels. The label must be visible, easy to read and understand and placed on the individual products that are on sale. All allergens must be listed in bold as in the image below.
What are the 14 allergens?
The 14 allergens that will require labelling in bold are:
- Celery
- Cereals containing gluten
- Crustaceans
- Eggs
- Fish
- Lupin
- Milk
- Molluscs
- Mustard
- Nuts
- Peanuts
- Seasame seeds
- Soya
- Sulphur Dioxide
Statistics on food allergies in the UK
Around 6% of people in the UK are struggling with food allergies. Food allergies can lead to poor health and in some cases be fatal.
Consumers who encounter a food allergy require immediate treatments from highly trained medical professionals. They will usually treat the patients with the help of injectable adrenaline. If a person who is dealing with a food allergy fails to get immediate treatments symptoms can be increasingly difficult to treat.
One of the worst things about food allergies is that most of the people who experienced near-fatal reactions don’t have a clear understanding of their risks at the time of consuming foods. That’s because they were not aware of the fact that allergens were present in the food consumed by them.
How can Natasha’s Law create an impact on your business?
Natasha’s law should be viewed as a positive for both consumers and food business operators alike. It will give consumers peace of mind that their food contains only the ingredients stated and businesses will be able to develop as trusted operators by many consumers who suffer from allergenic reactions.
Every food business should be working towards Natasha’s law to be well prepared and well placed for the implementation of the Food Information Regulations when they come in to force on 1st October 2021.
It is important to remember that the regulations cover prepacked food for direct sale also known as PPDS.
To decide if food is PPDS the following questions should be asked:
- Is the food presented to the consumer in packaging?
- Is the food packaged before the consumer selects or orders it?
- Is the food packaged at the same place where it is sold to the consumer?
If you answered YES to ALL three questions the food is classed as PPDS. You can use the flowchart along with this blog to decide if food is PPDS.
If you are managing a business in the food industry, you must be wondering how Natasha’s Law is capable of creating an impact on your business. Let’s take a look at some of the most prominent types of food businesses that exist and analyze how Natasha’s Law will be able to create a positive impact. Based on that, you can understand what exactly you should be doing in order to remain compliant along with Natasha’s Law.
Café’s
Cafés are potentially one of the food businesses that will have the most amount of work to complete or may see an increase in labour. If a customer comes to the counter and orders a sandwich that is made fresh then the sandwich would not need to be labelled in line with the regulation change. However if the same sandwich is made in the morning and placed in packaging ready for service then the regulations would apply.
Restaurants
The amendment to the Food Information Regulations will not create a significant impact on restaurants. However, it is one of your responsibilities to make sure that you provide information related to allergens that are being used in the preparation of dishes included on the menu. One of the most effective methods available is for the information to be printed on menus. Other methods include verbal communication to the customers or the preparation of an allergens matrix. Your staff members should have a clear understanding of allergens that are included in the different foods. If a customer is willing to purchase such dishes, the staff members should promptly provide information about allergens.
Takeaways
Similar to the restaurants, takeaways will not be directly impacted by Natasha’s Law. But you need to make sure that you are selling non-prepacked food items. If you are offering any pre-packed food items, you will need to adhere to Natasha’s Law.
Where food is sold over the phone or orders are placed via the internet or mobile apps takeaway meals will be considered distance selling. Hence, you will need to make sure that you are sharing information related to allergens at the time of selling to the consumer. Staff members who work at the sales points should have a clear understanding of the allergens and they should be held responsible for passing down information to the customers.
Final words
Changes to the Food Information Regulations come into force on 1st October 2021. For some business operators they may seem daunting and even complex. FACT have created a flow diagram to help you understand the requirements of the regulation changes. In the meantime, it is worthy to think about implementing ways to overcome challenges that could take place such as staff training on labeling and expenses related to labeling. Further assistance can be offered with allergens training, production of allergen matrices and the implementation of safe practices.
If you have any questions please get in touch on 0203 870 4470, email us at [email protected] or contact us through social media.
