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Selling food in the UK

In Great Britain, food rules are mostly assimilated EU law, kept after Brexit and now changed in the UK. Northern Ireland still follows EU food law. Labels sold in Great Britain need a UK address for the food business or its UK importer, and businesses register with their local authority at least 28 days before trading.

Updated · Each section links to the official source it comes from

Labelling
Assimilated Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 in GB
Who advises and authorises
The Food Standards Agency, and Food Standards Scotland
Who enforces
Local authorities and trading standards
Allergens
Fourteen, emphasised in the ingredients list
Address on the label
A UK business, or the UK importer, for food sold in GB

Before a product goes on sale

The questions to answer, in the order they usually come up.

  1. 1Is the business registered with its local authority? Read more
  2. 2Is any ingredient a novel food that needs authorisation in GB? Read more
  3. 3What has to be on the label, including a UK address? Read more
  4. 4Are the 14 allergens emphasised in the ingredients list? Read more
  5. 5Is the packaging made for contact with food? Read more
  6. 6Does the product come in from outside the UK? Read more

The rules, by area

What each area covers, the texts that set it, and what the official pages say.

Labelling and allergens

What a prepacked food label has to show in Great Britain, and how allergens are shown.

  • A label shows the name of the food, a list of ingredients including allergens, the net quantity, a date mark, storage conditions, the name and address of the business, and a quantitative ingredients declaration (QUID) where needed.
  • Since 1 January 2024, prepacked food sold in GB shows a UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man address for the food business, or for its importer based there.
  • There are 14 allergens, and each is emphasised each time it appears in the ingredients list.
  • Food prepacked for direct sale has a label with a full ingredients list, with allergens emphasised.
  • Nutrition and health claims in GB are made from the Great Britain nutrition and health claims register.

How we help: Compliant Always sets what a GB label has to show beside what yours shows, with the source for each, including the address line that changed in 2024. Ask about this

Novel foods

Which ingredients need authorisation before they are used.

  • Novel foods need to be authorised before they can be placed on the market in Great Britain, under assimilated Regulation (EU) 2015/2283.

How we help: Compliant Always checks your ingredients against the authorisations that apply in GB, and keeps the evidence for each. Ask about this

Contaminants

Limits for substances that should not be in food above a set amount.

  • In GB, contaminants are covered by assimilated Regulation (EEC) No 315/93, alongside the hygiene rules of assimilated Regulation (EC) No 852/2004.

How we help: Upload a lab report and Compliant Always reads it line by line against the limits that apply in GB, with the source beside each one. Ask about this

Packaging and food contact materials

Materials expected to touch food or pass their constituents into it, including printing inks and adhesive labels.

  • The 2012 Regulations bring the rules on materials and articles in contact with food into one set of regulations for England.
  • They cover materials like printing inks and adhesive labels, but not coatings that are part of the food, such as sausage skin.
  • Businesses that supply or import more than 25 tonnes of packaging a year, with a turnover of £1 million or more, have obligations under extended producer responsibility for packaging.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps your packaging suppliers' declarations with the product, dated, and shows which are due for renewal. Ask about this

Registration and general food law

Who must register, and what a food business owes the chain it sits in.

  • A food business registers with its local authority at least 28 days before trading.
  • General food law covers food safety, traceability, labelling, and product withdrawals and recalls.
  • In Scotland, Food Standards Scotland gives the advice and guidance.

How we help: Compliant Always keeps each document tied to the supplier and the lot it came from, so traceability is on record when you need it. Ask about this

Import

How animal products and high risk food from outside the EU come into Great Britain.

  • The guidance covers live animals, animal products, and high risk food and feed of non-animal origin brought into GB from non-EU countries.
  • Importers notify these consignments on the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS).

How we help: Compliant Always keeps the certificates a consignment needs with the product, and shows what expires before the next one ships. Ask about this

Who answers for what

WhoWhat they answer forHow we help
BrandThe label, the claims, and registration as a food business.The label checked against GB requirements, and the paperwork behind it in one place.
ManufacturerHygiene, traceability and what goes into the product at its stage.Specifications, test reports and certificates kept with each product, ready for a customer's form.
UK importerThe address on the label where the business is outside the UK, and the import notifications.The overseas supplier's documents read and dated before the goods arrive.
Packaging supplierMaterials that meet the food contact rules.Declarations collected once and shown to each customer that asks.

Great Britain and Northern Ireland

In Great Britain, read references to EU Regulations as assimilated law. In Northern Ireland, EU food law continues to apply, including Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, and food originating there is marked "UK(NI)" where EU law asks for a member state.

Scotland has its own food body, Food Standards Scotland, and some regulations are made separately for England, Wales and Scotland.

Shipping out of the UK?

Exporting food from the UK

Questions businesses ask

Does a food label in Great Britain need a UK address?
Yes. Since 1 January 2024, prepacked food sold in GB shows a UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man address for the food business. If the business is not there, the label shows the address of its importer based there.
Do EU food rules still apply in the UK?
In Great Britain, most EU food law was kept as assimilated law and can now be changed in the UK. In Northern Ireland, EU food law continues to apply.
Which allergens have to be labelled in the UK?
Fourteen: cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame, sulphites above 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/l, lupin and molluscs. Each is emphasised in the ingredients list.
What is the rule for food prepacked for direct sale?
Food prepacked for direct sale needs a label with a full ingredients list, with allergenic ingredients emphasised within it.
Does a food business have to register in the UK?
Yes. A food business registers with its local authority at least 28 days before it starts trading.
Does a novel food need authorisation in Great Britain?
Yes. Novel foods need to be authorised before they can be placed on the market in GB, under assimilated Regulation (EU) 2015/2283.
Which health claims can be made in Great Britain?
Claims listed in the Great Britain nutrition and health claims register, under the conditions set out for each.
Who enforces food law in the UK?
Local authorities, including trading standards, enforce on the ground. The Food Standards Agency sets guidance and runs authorisations, with Food Standards Scotland in Scotland.
How are high risk imports notified to Great Britain?
Animal products and high risk food and feed of non-animal origin from outside the EU are notified on the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS).
How does Compliant Always help with selling in the UK?
Our team reads the rules for the markets you sell in, including the split between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Compliant Always shows which apply to your product and keeps the documents behind each one ready. It shows what the requirements say and what your documents show; you decide.

Sources

Compliant Always is a product of Lettuce Labs LLC. It shows what requirements say and what your documents show. It is not legal advice, and you decide.

Tell us what you make, and we will show you the rules for it.

Name the product and the markets you sell in. We will come back to you with what applies in the UK and what your paperwork needs to show.

Get in touch

No card, no account, and no call to book. Tell us what you make and where you sell it, and we will come back to you.

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