Eight in 10 food business owners aren’t prepared for introduction of Natasha’s Law on safety

New legislation due to come into effect in October

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Many food business owners have said they are not prepared for Natasha’s Law, new food safety legislation that is set to come into effect in October.

The legislation will require all pre-packaged foods in the UK to show full ingredient lists and allergen information.

It was brought about after the death of 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse in 2016, who who had an allergic reaction after eating a Pret A Manger sandwich whose packaging did not disclose it contained sesame seeds - a fatal ingredient for the teenager.

Ednan-Laperous purchased the sandwich at Heathrow airport and later collapsed on a flight to Nice.

Following her death, Ednan-Laperouse’s parents campaigned for new legislation around food labelling.

In June 2019, the government announced that it would bring Natasha’s Law into effect from October 2021.

However, research on 500 food industry employers and employees commissioned by global standards organisation GS1 UK, found that 40 per cent of businesses had not yet heard of Natasha’s Law.

Almost half (48 per cent) of small independent businesses said they had heard of Natasha’s Law.

It also found that 80 per cent of those surveyed felt unprepared for the new legislation.

This was in spite of the fact that 90 per cent claimed to have had a lot of information about Natasha’s Law and what would be required of them.

Henry Dimbleby MBE, author of the National Food Strategy said: “Natasha’s Law represents a hugely positive, yet complex transformation for the food sector, one fraught with risk.

“It is worrying that the awareness of the changes is inconsistent, but not particularly surprising after everything the sector has had thrown at it over the last 18 months.

“It’s therefore fantastic to see a data solution that will help companies, particularly smaller companies, make the required changes while reducing both bureaucracy and the opportunities for error.”