What is Natasha’s Law
Natasha’s Law came into effect on October 1, 2021, in the UK. This law was established to make the food industry safer for people with food allergies. Basically, it states food that is freshly prepared, packaged, and displayed before being sold must have a full listing of ingredients and highlight any of the 14 major allergens it may contain. The law was named after a teenager named Natasha Ednan-Laperouse who died after eating a Pret A-Manger baguette containing sesame.
Does The United States have Natasha’s Law
The current food safety laws in the USA are enforced by the FDA and FSIS. The FDA which is the Food and Drug Administration, regulates all food manufactured in the United States, except for meat, poultry, and egg products. That is regulated by the FSIS. Agency responsibility of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) ensures that the United States commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products are safe and correctly labeled and packaged.
What does Natasha’s Law apply to
Chosen or ordered by the consumer in person at the premises.
Sold or given to the consumer in packaging, whether fully or partially enclosed
Packaged before the consumer selects it.
Packaged at the same place where it is sold. This also includes being packaged by the same business that sells it in a mobile food truck or a temporary stall.
All sizes of businesses must comply, affecting everything from cafes to sandwich chains, schools, caterers, supermarkets, and even corner shops with food-to-go-offers.
What is to be included on the Label
The label must name the product and all the ingredients contained within it.
The 14 different allergens must be emphasized in some way either by being bolded, underlined, or capitalized or presented in a different font color.
What does not need to be included
The label does not need to inform you if there is any risk of cross-contamination in the preparation or the packaging of the product. In this case, the person purchasing the product must ask the manager or wait/staff how it is handled on-site or off-site.
List of Allergens from the European Union intended for UK Nations of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland
- Egg, Fish, shellfish, Mollusks – mussels and oysters, crustaceans, shrimp
- Milk
- Peanuts, Tree Nuts like almonds, cashews, pistachios, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans
- Celery
- Sesame
- Soybeans
- Gluten – Cereals containing Wheat, oats, barley
- Lupin
- Sulfites – sulphur dioxide and sulphites
Does Natasha’s Law apply to buffets
It is covered under the portion of the law concerning if an item is individually wrapped as part of a buffet and not made to order and if the consumer chooses it, then this falls within Natasha’s law.
