Adapt your labels quickly and easily with a digital label printer
Natasha’s Law is a new UK law that changes the way allergens must be listed on food labels. The change is going to be disruptive for many label users. To minimize this, affected companies will need to act quickly to find a dynamic solution that gives them the flexibility to make necessary label design changes quickly and easily. If they don’t find the right solution, things could quickly get complicated and expensive.
Many food companies are adapting to such changes by switching to in-house label printing. Afinia Label offers the widest range of solutions.
What is Natasha’s Law?
Formally styled the “UK Food Information Amendment”, this is new legislation which requires food businesses to provide transparent ingredient lists and allergen labelling on foods which are prepackaged for direct sale on premises.
Use this tool to find the exact allergen requirements for your products.
Why this will cause headaches for food businesses
Most on-site food producers outsource their labels from third parties. They’re ordered in bulk and in advance for each product; after October 2021, any non-compliant label stock will need to be thrown out.
Continuing to outsource labels also leaves companies hampered in terms of flexibility: if you create a new product or test new ingredients, you need new labels. With high minimum orders from suppliers, this can become expensive and wasteful.
Worse, it leaves you vulnerable to future regulation changes. Natasha’s Law won’t be the last major change to food label requirements; new rules will continually render your outsourced label stock obsolete, unless you have a solution which prevents all of these problems.
In-house printing is an instant, future-proofed solution
In-house digital label printing is the solution most on-site food producers are looking at. Not only can you print the precise number of labels required for every product (without minimum orders) but adapting to new legislation takes seconds.
A quick change to the digital file makes you fully compliant with any changes in regulations, worldwide. That goes for ingredients and allergens, but also nutritional information, marketing, and design changes—you can do it faster, with less waste, and to the same level of quality by printing in-house.
And to cap it off, the per-label costs are much lower than outsourcing.
Be ready for future changes
Natasha’s law won’t be the last of these types of changes. If you’re worried about impacts on your current label stock or supply chain, remember that major changes are not uncommon. In an age where guidelines and rules can change in a heartbeat, the next sweeping requirement could be just around the corner.
Leave worrying about these regulations to your competitors and prepare your business by investing in in-house digital label printing. Get a free, no-obligation printed sample today. We can also provide a free consultation and cost analysis.
