Quick answer
First classify the food correctly: full prepacked, prepacked for direct sale or non-prepacked. For full prepacked food, check the applicable name, ingredients/allergens, quantity, date, storage/use, operator, nutrition, origin and other product-specific particulars. Exemptions are specific; a PPDS allergen label is not automatically a complete full-prepacked label.
Classify the sale and packaging model first
Establish when and where the food is packed, whether it is packed before the customer chooses it and how it is supplied. Full prepacked food and PPDS have different information rules. Food packed at a customer’s request is another relevant category.
FSA technical guidance explains these distinctions and the allergen requirements. Use the published PPDS labelling check for that specific model; do not transfer its shorter label requirements to a different product category.
Build a product-specific full-prepacked checklist
| Information | What to establish |
|---|---|
| Food identity | The appropriate legal, customary or descriptive name. |
| Ingredients and allergens | The required ingredients list, ordering and clear emphasis of relevant regulated allergens, subject to specific exemptions. |
| QUID | Ingredient percentages where the quantitative ingredient declaration rules require them. |
| Net quantity | The relevant weight/volume information and any specific presentation rules. |
| Date and conditions | Appropriate durability date, necessary storage and use instructions. |
| Responsible operator | Required business identity and physical address for the market. |
| Nutrition | The required declaration unless a specific exemption applies. |
| Origin/provenance | Required origin information and claims that might otherwise mislead. |
| Other particulars | Relevant alcohol strength, warnings, lot/product-specific information and special category rules. |
GOV.UK business labelling guidance gives the main requirements and links to the detailed rules. This checklist is a review structure, not a substitute for checking each product’s applicable exemptions and category legislation.
Use the actual recipe and specifications
Build the ingredients information from the complete current recipe, including compound ingredients and relevant additives, with suitable supplier details. Assess QUID where an ingredient is named, emphasised or otherwise triggers the rules. Check the finished product and claims, not only a supplier’s outer carton.
Use the published 14-allergen guide for practical allergen identification. A precautionary statement cannot replace accurate mandatory ingredient/allergen information or appropriate controls.
Check market, exemptions and extra rules
GB and NI operator-address requirements differ. The current GOV.UK guidance describes a UK operator/importer address for GB and an NI or EU operator/importer address for NI. Confirm the actual supply route and any applicable special arrangements with competent advice.
An exemption from a nutrition declaration does not automatically exempt ingredients, allergen or other information. Specific foods, small packs, supply models and products with claims can need different checks. Do not assume a small business is exempt from every labelling duty.
Review the finished artwork and real pack
Check legibility, language, permanence, field-of-vision and applicable minimum type-size rules on the actual packaging. A readable design file can become unreadable after printing, folding or sealing. Verify that dates and batch information remain visible where required.
Assign an artwork/version owner. Before release, compare the printed pack with the current recipe, specification, market and supplier evidence. Repeat the review after substitutions or changes in claims, portion, packaging or destination.
Next steps
- Classify the food and market correctly.
- Build the applicable mandatory-information and exemption checklist.
- Verify the complete recipe, suppliers, claims and address.
- Check the final printed pack and control future changes.
Read the official practical guidance — Use the current source alongside the procedures for your own business.