Three categories of food

Food law sorts food into three groups. Once you know the group, you know what information to give.

Prepacked food is put into packaging before it is offered for sale, and it is not PPDS. Usually another business packed it. Examples are crisps, tinned food and sandwiches from a supplier. It needs full labelling.

Prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food is packed by the business that sells it, before the customer chooses it. It needs a label with the name of the food and a full ingredients list, with the 14 allergens emphasised.

Non-prepacked food, or loose food, has no packaging, or is packed at the customer's request. Examples are restaurant meals, unwrapped bakery items and food served from a deli counter. It does not need a label, but allergen information must be available for every item.

Distance selling is not a fourth group. It is a way of selling, and it has its own rule, which comes later in this course.

All of this applies in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The FSA publishes guidance for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and Food Standards Scotland publishes its own.