Guide
Do market stalls need PPDS labels?
Yes, when you pack food before customers pick it and sell it from your stall. Bags of cookies, boxed brownies and sealed salad pots prepared earlier are typical PPDS. Loose trays where customers point and you bag to order usually follow non-prepacked allergen information rules instead.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
Same business, same location
A market pitch counts as the premises/location for PPDS. Food you packed that morning (or the night before) for your stall needs the name and full ingredients list with allergens emphasised on each pack.
Packed vs loose on the same stall
Many traders run both: sealed packs in a stack, and an open display. Label the sealed packs as PPDS. For loose items, make sure allergen information is accurate and available the way your local authority expects — often a matrix plus trained staff.
What works outdoors
- Waterproof label stock or laminated cards slipped into bags
- Capitals or bold that survive smearing and rain
- A phone or folder with supplier specs if an officer asks how you built the list
FSA sector guide
The FSA publishes PPDS materials specifically for mobile sellers and street food vendors — use those examples for vans and stalls.
Questions
I pack at home for the stall — whose rules?
Do free samples need labels?
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