Guide
Can I use allergen symbols instead of a list?
No. For PPDS food, Natasha’s Law requires a full written ingredients list with allergenic ingredients emphasised. Icons, colour dots or nut pictograms can support communication, but they do not replace the ingredients list on the pack.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
Why symbols fall short
What counts on a PPDS pack
| Approach | Allowed as the pack label? | Useful elsewhere? |
|---|---|---|
| Full ingredients list with allergens emphasised | Yes — required | Yes |
| Nut / milk icons only | No | Menus and matrices |
| Colour dots without a written list | No | Staff boards (with training) |
| QR code linking to ingredients | Not a substitute for on-pack particulars | May supplement |
Customers with allergies need to see every ingredient, not only a subset of icons. Symbols also disagree between schemes, print poorly on thermal labels, and cannot show that wheat appears three times in a list.
What you can add
After a compliant ingredients list, some businesses add a short “Contains: milk, egg, wheat” summary or well-known icons. Treat those as extras. The emphasised list remains the legal core for PPDS.
Matrices vs pack labels
An allergen matrix on the wall helps staff answer questions about loose food. It is not a substitute for PPDS pack labelling on wrapped products.
Enforcement reality
Officers look for the name and the ingredients list on the pack. A symbol sheet alone is a common non-compliance.
Questions
Are traffic-light allergen charts enough for PPDS?
Can I bold allergens and skip the rest of the ingredients?
Official sources
Everything on this page traces back to these. Where they and we disagree, they are right — tell us and we'll fix it.
- Introduction to allergen labelling for PPDS foodFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Labelling guidance for prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food productsFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Food allergen labelling and information requirements technical guidanceFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK