Natasha's Law: What Every UK Family With Food Allergies Needs to Know

Guide | UK Food Allergy Law

Natasha's Law: What Every UK Family With Food Allergies Needs to Know

On 1 October 2021, Natasha's Law came into force across the United Kingdom. The law is named after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died aged 15 in 2016 after suffering an allergic reaction to sesame seeds baked into a Pret à Manger baguette. The sesame was not declared on any label. An inquest and subsequent campaign by her family led directly to this legislation - one of the most significant changes to UK food labelling law in a generation.

What Is Natasha's Law?

Before October 2021, UK food law required full allergen labelling only for pre-packaged foods (products wrapped before arriving at point of sale). However, a significant category of food - known as Prepacked for Direct Sale (PPDS) - fell into a grey zone.

PPDS foods are items that are:

• Packaged on the same premises where they are sold, and
• Offered for sale directly to the customer.

Examples include: a sandwich made and wrapped in a bakery, a salad packaged in a school canteen, a pastry boxed in a coffee shop. Under the old rules, businesses only had to provide allergen information for PPDS foods "on request" - there was no requirement to print it on the packaging itself.

Natasha's Law changed this entirely. Since 1 October 2021, all PPDS foods must carry:

1. The full name of the food
2. A complete ingredient list with the 14 major allergens highlighted in bold, italics, or another contrasting format

This applies to bakeries, sandwich shops, school and hospital canteens, farm shops, and any other business making and packaging food on site for direct sale.

The 14 UK Allergens (Retained from EU Law Post-Brexit)

The UK retained the EU's framework of 14 major allergens after Brexit. These must be declared on all pre-packaged and PPDS food labels:

1. Cereals containing gluten - wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut, and their hybridised strains
2. Crustaceans - prawns, crabs, lobster, crayfish
3. Eggs
4. Fish
5. Peanuts
6. Soybeans
7. Milk - including lactose
8. Nuts - almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamia/Queensland nuts
9. Celery - including celeriac
10. Mustard - seeds, powder, leaves, and prepared mustard
11. Sesame seeds
12. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites - above 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre
13. Lupin - lupin flour and seeds, used in some breads and pastries
14. Molluscs - clams, mussels, oysters, scallops, squid

UK vs. US Allergen Law - Key Differences

The UK list of 14 is broader than the US list of 9. The UK includes celery, mustard, lupin, molluscs, and sulphites - none of which are covered by US federal allergen labelling law. Families moving between the two countries, or ordering food from US-based websites, should be aware of this gap.

How to Read UK Food Labels for Allergens

Pre-packaged foods

The ingredient list must show all 14 allergens in bold (or another clearly contrasting format - italic or underlined are also acceptable under the law). Look for terms like wheat flour, milk, eggs standing out from the surrounding text.

PPDS foods

Since Natasha's Law, all PPDS foods must carry the full ingredient list with allergens highlighted. If you purchase a sandwich from a bakery counter and it has no ingredient label, the business is in breach of the law.

Advisory statements ("may contain")

Phrases such as "may contain traces of nuts" or "made in a kitchen that handles sesame" are voluntary in the UK. There is no legal definition, no threshold, and no enforcement standard. Their presence signals awareness of a cross-contact risk; their absence does not confirm safety.

At restaurants and food service

UK food businesses (restaurants, cafes, takeaways) must provide allergen information for all menu items. The information can be provided verbally, but a written record must be available on request. Many businesses now use QR codes linking to online allergen menus - this is legally permitted, provided allergen information is always accessible.

Eating Out Safely in the UK

You have a legal right to allergen information before ordering at any food service establishment. Practical tips:

• Call ahead - Contact the restaurant before your visit to discuss your requirements. Staff trained in allergy management can prepare in advance.
• Ask specifically - Rather than "does this contain nuts?", ask: "Does this dish contain any of the 14 allergens - specifically [your allergen]? Can you check the recipe and ingredients with the kitchen?"
• Request written confirmation - Ask to see the allergen menu or matrix, which most venues now maintain.
• Be wary of "we can make it gluten-free" - In a kitchen handling gluten-containing foods, cross-contact is a genuine risk even when ingredients are technically swapped out.

For comprehensive UK-specific guidance, Allergy UK and Anaphylaxis UK both offer detailed resources for families, including restaurant cards and travel guidance.

Our Perspective as Parents

We are Mark and Regina Pivovarov, founders of pashutFree. Although our son's primary diagnosis is celiac disease rather than a classical allergy, we navigate labelling law every single day. Natasha's Law represents something important to us: it came about because a family refused to accept that their daughter's death was simply "one of those things." Label transparency saves lives. We built pashutFree in that same spirit - to make the information families need genuinely accessible, not buried in small print.

Disclaimer

We are not doctors or dietitians. The information in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or dietary advice. If you or your child has been diagnosed with a food allergy, coeliac disease, or any other food-related condition, please consult a qualified GP, allergist, or registered dietitian.

Sources: Allergy UK | Anaphylaxis UK | UK Government - Natasha's Law