10. THE ALLERGEN PLAYBOOK

The Professional Kitchen's Complete Guide to Natasha's Law, Allergen Management & EHO-Ready Compliance

Natasha's Law has been in force since 2021, and roughly 1 in 10 UK food businesses inspected are still failing to meet it. This guide takes you through exactly what the law requires, full ingredient labelling, all 14 allergens, and the difference between PPDS, non-prepacked and prepacked food that trips up most kitchens, then shows you how to build a real allergen management system around it: HACCP principles applied specifically to allergens, a proper allergen matrix, and cross-contamination controls that survive a real service. You'll also go inside an actual EHO inspection, see how the Food Hygiene Rating is really calculated, and learn the most common failure points inspectors find. The back of the book is a full toolkit, a worked 14-allergen matrix, a daily HACCP diary, a PPDS label checklist and a staff training log, each with a filled-in example followed by a blank page ready to photocopy and use.