Natasha’s law comes into effect on 1 October

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) is among those highlighting the new requirements for retailers.

The new law is named after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, a 15-year-old who died after suffering an allergic reaction to a baguette that contained sesame seeds but which did not declare allergens on its packaging.

David Pickering, CTSI lead officer for food safety, said: “CTSI welcome the introduction of the requirement to provide consumers with information on labels about allergenic ingredients on a wider range of food.

“This additional information will enable consumers to make safer informed choices and whilst it may be a challenge for some food businesses, they can seek advice from their local trading standards service on this important issue.”

An allergy aware campaign has been created by the Greater Gwent Food Group – a partnership between Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport City and Torfaen councils – with the support of the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

It includes a handy factsheet for businesses, a series of posters in several languages reminding customers to notify staff of any allergies they may have, and an in-depth information video explaining the risks of improperly labelled food.

Nathan Barnhouse, director of the FSA in Wales said: “Food hypersensitivity is a priority for the FSA and our ambition is for the UK to become the best place in the world for people living with food hypersensitivities.

“The changes to labelling requirements for prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food are a huge milestone for people living with food allergies and will help protect them by providing potentially life-saving allergen information on the packaging.”