Do I need to label allergens on cakes I sell? UK law for home bakers, explained
Short answer: almost certainly yes. Here's exactly what the law requires, who it applies to, and how to actually produce a compliant label without a food science degree.
Guide for UK home bakersThe law: "Natasha's Law"
Since October 2021, UK law has required any food that's pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) — made and packaged on the premises where it's sold, before a customer chooses it — to carry a full ingredients list with the 14 major allergens clearly emphasised, usually in bold. This is commonly called Natasha's Law, named after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died after eating a pre-packaged product with an undeclared allergen.
A cake you bake, box up, and sell — from a market stall, an online order, or your front room — is PPDS food. There's no exemption for small businesses, sole traders, or low volumes.
The 14 allergens you need to check for
Celery, cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt), crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide/sulphites, and tree nuts.
What your label actually needs
- The product name
- A full ingredients list, in descending order by weight
- Every one of the 14 allergens present, visually emphasised (usually bold) within that list
- The label physically attached to the packaging — a QR code or a verbal mention isn't enough
How BakeLabels solves each part of this
Getting the ingredients right, from the real packet
Photograph each ingredient's packaging and BakeLabels transcribes exactly what's printed — no relying on memory for what's in the butter you've bought a dozen times.
Spotting all 14 allergens, not just the obvious ones
Every ingredient is checked against all 14 UK allergens automatically — including ones that are easy to miss, like sulphites in dried fruit or gluten hiding in a flavouring.
Ordering by weight
Enter the grams of each ingredient you used and BakeLabels sorts the list by descending weight for you — the part most home bakers don't realise is a legal requirement.
A label you can actually print
Add your logo and business details, then print or copy a finished label formatted the way Natasha's Law expects — ready to stick straight on the box.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to label cakes I sell from home?
Yes, if you package the cake before the customer buys it — which almost all home-bakery sales involve. This applies whether you're selling one cake a month or running it as a full business.
What counts as "pre-packed for direct sale" (PPDS)?
Food that's made and packaged on the same premises it's sold from, before the customer selects or orders it — for example, a cake boxed up ready on a stall, or a batch of cupcakes wrapped and listed for sale online, made at your own premises.
What if I only bake cakes to order — do the same rules apply?
If a customer orders a custom cake and it isn't packaged before they choose it, full PPDS labelling doesn't apply in the same way — but you're still required to tell the customer about allergens present, verbally or in writing, before they buy.
Is a one-off cake sale, like a village fete, exempt?
Genuinely one-off, non-commercial sales by a private individual — like a school fete stall — are generally treated differently to regular commercial selling. If you sell regularly or run it as a business, the exemption doesn't apply. If you're unsure which category you're in, your local council can confirm.
Can I just write "may contain nuts" instead of a full ingredients list?
No — a "may contain" warning is a separate, voluntary precaution for cross-contamination risk. It doesn't replace the legal requirement for a full ingredients list with the 14 allergens emphasised for anything that's actually an ingredient.
Do I need to register as a food business before I start selling?
Yes — you need to register with your local council, usually at least 28 days before you start trading, even if you're baking from home. This is separate from allergen labelling but equally required.
Does BakeLabels guarantee my label is legally compliant?
No, and it's honest about that. It's a drafting tool that gets you most of the way there quickly and accurately, but you're always responsible for checking the final result against the real ingredients before you sell anything.
Is BakeLabels free to use?
Yes.
Does BakeLabels store my data or my ingredients?
No account is required. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere except the one photo per scan, which is used only to read the text off it. Anything you choose to save — a pantry item or a finished label — stays in your own browser, on your own device.
Build your label now
Photograph what you're baking with, check the reading, and get a print-ready allergen label in a couple of minutes.
Open BakeLabels →This page is provided for general information and isn't a substitute for advice from your local authority. Food labelling law can change — for the current official guidance, see the Food Standards Agency at food.gov.uk.