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Rachael Sawtell, Planglow's marketing director and co-owner, offers invaluable insight around sustainability goals, labelling essentials and the importance of planning ahead in this Q&A.
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New School Food Standards Explained
Are you ready for the proposed new School Food Standards? Set for their first major update in over a decade, these changes will have a direct operational impact on school catering teams, contract caterers, and leaders of multi-academy trusts (MATs).
Does Owen's Law apply to schools?
When people talk about Owen's Law, the focus is usually on restaurants, cafés and takeaways. But schools serve food to children with allergies every day, so where do they fit in? Updated 6 October 2026 with FSA Guidance.
Benedict's Law Explained:
New legislation on school allergy management is on its way. The School Allergy Safety Bill, often referred to as Benedict's Law, introduces new statutory requirements for allergy management in schools in England, including stocking emergency adrenaline, training staff in allergy awareness, and maintaining a dedicated allergy policy.
School Food Labelling Laws
How can schools ensure compliance with Natasha's Law, the School Food Standards and Benedict's Law? In Part 1, we looked at what each law covers and why they have been introduced. Now we tackle the practical questions for schools and caterers around how to manage all three without it becoming three separate compliance headaches. Read on to find out what schools and caterers should be doing to prepare, the most common mistakes we see in practice, and how food labelling software and joined-up ingredient and allergen data can make staying compliant far more straightforward.
School Allergen and Food Labelling Laws Explained
If you work in school catering or education management in the UK, you'll know there's far more to serving school meals than filling plates. Every day is a balancing act between nutritional standards, tight budgets, staffing pressures, safeguarding responsibilities and the diverse needs of pupils. For the growing number of children living with food allergies, one small mistake can have serious consequences, making accurate allergen management a critical part of pupil safety and wellbeing.
How to Comply With California's New Food Date Labeling Law
California's new food date labeling law, AB 660, takes effect on July 1, 2026, and overhauls how date labels, from "best before" to "sell by", appear on food packaging across the state. It standardizes the terminology used on most food labels and bans consumer-facing "sell by" dates altogether.
New York's Allergen Labeling Law
If you run a deli, café, bakery, food truck, or any food establishment that sells prepackaged food in the state of New York, it’s time to rethink your food labels. The New York Senate Bill S5381 marks a major shift in food safety legislation - and it directly affects your daily operations.
Will science-based thresholds improve 'May Contain' allergen labels?
As labelling software experts (yes, we’re labelling nerds), we closely follow the debate on Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL) so you don’t have to. These are the "May Contain" warnings that confuse both businesses and consumers alike. A recent feature in Foodservice Footprint outlined the growing momentum behind European and global efforts to standardise PAL using scientific thresholds.
The Allergen List is Evolving
As plant-based diets continue to rise, will new ingredients be added to the list of allergens legally required to be highlighted on food labels?
New Two-Day Shelf Life Guidance for Healthcare Caterers
Patient safety is paramount for healthcare professionals, and of course, this extends to hospital catering teams and how food is labelled. In a significant move to enhance food safety for vulnerable patients, the British Sandwich and Food to Go Association (BSA) has issued new guidance recommending a two-day shelf life for all ready-to-eat chilled foods in healthcare and hospital settings, including canteens and retail outlets.
The Hidden Dangers of TikTok Food Trends
The latest food trends on social platforms like TikTok are becoming a potential health hazard. Recent investigations revealed food is being sold via TikTok Shop without adhering to UK allergen labelling legislation, prompting an urgent alert from the Food Standards Agency (FSA): a reminder for food businesses of all sizes as to the importance of robust allergen labelling and regulatory compliance.
Are you ready for Simpler Recycling legislation?
Under the new Simpler Recycling legislation, waste and recycling collections access England, will change for all businesses (plus schools and hospitals) with 10 or more employees, from 1st April 2025.
Unpacking Recycling for Consumers and Businesses
As a leader in sustainable food service packaging, we are committed to designing products that are suitable for multiple waste stream recycling – whether that's for home composting, industrial composting, or recycling. This approach not only helps to reduce waste, but also ensures flexibility and increases sustainability.
Calorie Labelling on Menus could Save Lives
As part of a national obesity strategy, a calorie labelling law was introduced in England for businesses with 250+ employees in April 2022. Now some scientists argue calorie labelling on menus should be extended and made mandatory for all food businesses to prevent unnecessary deaths.
Owen's Law Explained: Will Restaurants Have to Display Allergens on Menus?
Have you heard about Owen’s Law? It’s a proposal to make allergen information on menus a legal requirement rather than guidance. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced it will recommend such an update to the law.
