EIGHT in 10 food business owners have said they are unprepared for new food safety legislation that will be coming into effect in October, Press Association has reported.

The lack of awareness about Natasha’s Law is “worrying” experts have said.

Natasha’s Law requires pre-packaged foods in the UK to carry all allergy information following the death of 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse who suffered a fatal allergic reaction from a Pret A Manger in 2016.

Her parents have since campaigned for a change in the law around food labelling, and in June 2019 the Government announced that Natasha’s Law would come into effect from October 2021.

The legislation will require food businesses to provide full ingredient lists and allergen information on foods pre-packaged for sale in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

With the introduction of Natasha’s law only a month away, research commissioned by global standards organisation GS1 UK, found that 40% of businesses had not yet heard of Natasha’s Law.

48% of food franchise employees in small independent businesses had heard of Natasha’s Law, according to the study.

Eight in ten said they felt unprepared for the new regulations coming into effect, despite 90% saying they had received plenty of information about the new law.

Henry Dimbleby MBE, author of the National Food Strategy said: “Natasha’s Law represents a hugely positive, yet complex transformation for the food sector, one fraught with risk.

“It is worrying that the awareness of the changes is inconsistent, but not particularly surprising after everything the sector has had thrown at it over the last 18 months.

“It’s therefore fantastic to see a data solution that will help companies, particularly smaller companies, make the required changes while reducing both bureaucracy and the opportunities for error.”

There were 500 food industry employers and employees surveyed for the poll