Which food labelling software do you need? Prep, PPDS, recipe and compliance platforms explained
Food labelling software for UK restaurants and hospitality falls into four core groups:
prep and stock rotation labelling
PPDS or Natasha's Law labelling
recipe and nutrition management
wider food safety platforms that include labelling as one over-simplified module
Most commercial kitchens need one or both of the first two. Labl.it covers both on one handheld device. If recipe costing or nutritional analysis is your primary need, recipe management software is most likely the better starting point.
The tools overlap, and supplier websites tend to blur the lines, so this guide sets out what each one does to enable you to make the best decision for your kitchen.
1. Prep and rotation labelling
What it does: prints the labels that go on prepped, opened, cooked and defrosted food: product name, prep date, use-by date and usually initials. It's the evidence an EHO sees when they open your fridge.
Who it suits: every commercial kitchen.
What matters most: speed at the station. Prep labelling happens dozens of times a shift, across several benches, often mid-service. A system that's slower than handwriting gets skipped, however good its features are. Calculated use-by dates matter too, because working dates out manually is where errors creep in.
2. PPDS and Natasha's Law labelling
What it does: prints sale labels for food prepacked for direct sale, such as sandwiches, salads and grab-and-go items. Under Natasha's Law, these must show the food's name and a full ingredients list with the 14 allergens emphasised.
Who it suits: any business packing food on site before it's sold.
What matters most: a label large enough for long ingredient lists, allergen emphasis that stays consistent on every print, and a quick way to update labels when a recipe changes. Our guide to choosing a Natasha's Law labelling provider covers what to test in more detail.
3. Recipe, nutrition and menu management
What it does: builds ingredient lists and allergen information from recipes, often down to sub-ingredients, and usually adds nutritional analysis, recipe costing and menu data.
Who it suits: central production kitchens, food-to-go operators with large changing ranges, and groups that publish nutrition information or need ingredient breakdowns from supplier data.
Where it can fall short: these platforms are built around recipe data, not the prep station. Printing often relies on separate tablets or printers, which can slow labelling down.
4. Food safety and compliance platforms
What it does: brings HACCP checklists, opening and closing checks, temperature logs, cleaning schedules and sometimes labelling into one app or dashboard.
Who it suits: operators who want one place for their wider food safety records, but don’t need much functionality on anything in particular.
Where it can fall short: breadth over depth. Labelling, if included at all, is one module among many, so check it handles prep and PPDS labels as well as a dedicated system would. Also check what hardware it runs on: phones and tablets shared on a busy kitchen floor have their own problems, which we cover in food safety apps vs dedicated labelling devices.
How to work out which you need
If you need to... | Look at |
Label prepped, opened and defrosted food quickly at every station | Prep labelling |
Sell food prepacked for direct sale | PPDS labelling |
Publish nutrition information or break products down into sub-ingredients | Recipe and nutrition management |
Keep checklists, temperatures and cleaning records in one place | Food safety platform |
Five questions narrow it down quickly:
Do you sell any food pre-packed for direct sale?
Do you need nutritional information, or ingredient breakdowns built from supplier data?
Does labelling happen at one bench, or at every station?
How many sites do you run, and who controls product data?
What do you already use for checklists and records?
Running more than one
Many kitchens end up with two tools, for example recipe software at head office and a labelling device in the kitchen. That works, as long as product data has one owner. When the same dish lives in two systems that don't update each other, allergen information falls out of step. We've written about why allergen information goes out of sync and how to prevent it.
The alternative is fewer, better-connected tools. Several partner compliance apps run on the Labl.it device, so labelling and checks happen in one place. See labelling software that works with your kitchen management system.
Where Labl.it fits
Labl.it is a handheld labelling device used in more than 4,000 UK kitchens, covering prep and PPDS labels on the same device, along with kitchen management systems through it’s partner apps available on device:
EHO prep labels, with use-by dates calculated from the product and storage method
Natasha's Law PPDS labels with full ingredients, emphasised allergens and a double-height label for long declarations
A central product list, pushed to every site or selected ones, with restrictable user permissions
A Menu Analyser tool that reads your menu and builds a list of products and ingredients, with allergens broken down, for your team to review before adding them to your Labl.it device
Print logs, expiry alerts and wastage reports across every site
Labels printed in three clicks, three times faster than handwriting
A range of kitchen management and compliance apps available on device from our partners, for a full roundup see our ‘meet the partners’ blog, or for the most up to date list see our partner directory
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between prep labels and PPDS labels?
Prep labels are for back of house, showing what food is and when it must be used. PPDS labels go on food sold to customers and therefore must include a full ingredients list with emphasised allergens under Natasha's Law. Labl.it PPDS labels also include barcodes which can be used at the till, and customisable fields to add things like business address or item price.
Do I need separate software for Natasha's Law?
Not necessarily. Some systems, including Labl.it, print prep and PPDS labels on the same device. Running one system for both means you only have one set of product data to keep accurate.
Is recipe management software the same as labelling software?
No. Recipe software manages recipe, nutrition and costing data and sometimes prints labels. Labelling software is built for printing labels quickly at the point of prep.
Can a food safety app on a phone replace a labelling device?
It can for some kitchens. But shared phones and tablets face heat, grease and drops, and they need a separate printer, whereas a dedicated device stays at the station and is built to survive a commercial kitchen.
Which food labelling software is best for a UK restaurant?
The one that matches the work your kitchen does most. For most restaurants that means fast prep labelling, plus PPDS labels if you sell prepacked food.
Find out in your own kitchen
Labl.it comes with a 14-day free trial. Load your products, run a normal week of prep and see whether it covers what your kitchen needs. If it isn't right, return it in the prepaid box at no cost.
Article written by:
Chad Stanbridge, Lead Developer at Labl.it
