Compliance guide
New York's allergen labeling law
New York's allergen labeling law takes effect on November 12, 2026. From that date, every deli, bakery, sandwich shop, ice cream parlor, cafeteria, food truck and retail food store in the state has to declare the nine major allergens on food it packs on site before a customer orders it. This page explains exactly what the statute says, who it covers, what it does not require, and what is still unknown. Every claim links to the primary source.
Published September 3, 2026 · Last updated September 3, 2026
The 30-second answer
If you pack food on your premises before a customer orders it, and you sell it there, you must label it with any of the nine major allergens it contains.
If you pack it after they order, like a made-to-order sandwich or a pizza in a box, the law does not apply to it.
If it is not in packaging at all, the law does not apply to it.
You must declare allergens. You do not have to list every ingredient. New York is not Natasha's Law.
Does this apply to you?
Three questions
Answer all three to see where you stand.
1.Is the food in packaging when the customer takes it?
2.Was it packed before the customer ordered it?
3.Was it prepared and packed on the same premises where it is sold?
This is a plain-language summary of the statutory definition. All three yes means the food is prepackaged food under New York law and needs an allergen declaration from November 12, 2026. Read the definitions in full at AGM § 199-g and PHL § 1357.
What the law actually requires
“Every food establishment shall label all prepackaged food with a written notification on the package or on a label attached to the package identifying any ingredient with which a product is made that constitutes a major food allergen. Such label need not identify any ingredient that does not constitute a major food allergen under federal or state law.”
“Written notification”. It has to be written. Verbal is not enough, a sign is not enough, staff knowledge is not enough.
“On the package or on a label attached to the package”. Either is fine. Printed film or an applied label both satisfy it.
“Identifying any ingredient that constitutes a major food allergen”. The allergen has to be identifiable. The statute does not prescribe a format, a typeface, bolding, a box, or a “Contains” statement.
Two laws, not one
Chapter 494 added two parallel sections. Same requirement, same allergen list, same definition of prepackaged food. Different definitions of who is covered, and different enforcement.
| Public Health Law § 1357 | Agriculture and Markets Law § 199-g | |
|---|---|---|
| “Food establishment” means | any place food is prepared and intended for off-premises consumption, including all delis, bakeries, sandwich shops, ice cream parlors, cafeterias and food trucks operating within the state | any place where food is prepared and intended for consumption, including retail food stores as defined in AGM § 500 |
| Reach | food service, packing for takeaway | broader: no off-premises qualifier, explicitly includes retail food stores |
| Enforced by | NY State Department of Health; in New York City, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene | NY State Department of Agriculture and Markets |
| General penalty provision | Public Health Law Article 13 | AGM § 39: up to $600 first violation, up to $1,200 subsequent |
What counts as prepackaged food
“Food that is prepared, prepacked, and offered or sold to customers on the same premises. Prepackaged food does not include food that is not in packaging or is packaged after a customer has ordered.”
| Item | Covered? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Egg salad sandwich wrapped and put in the grab-and-go fridge at 7am | Yes | Packed on site before anyone ordered it |
| Turkey club made to order and wrapped at the counter | No | Packed after the customer ordered |
| Bagel handed over in a paper bag | No | Not packaged for the purposes of the statute |
| Tub of coleslaw filled and lidded behind the deli counter that morning | Yes | Prepared, packed and sold on the same premises |
| Half pound of sliced ham weighed and wrapped while the customer waits | No | Packed after the order |
| Sheet cake slices boxed up in the morning for the bakery case | Yes | Packed before the order |
| Pint of ice cream hand-packed at the start of service | Yes | Packed before the order |
| Pint of ice cream hand-packed for a customer at the counter | No | Packed after the order |
| Case of factory-sealed sodas | No | Not prepared on the premises; federal packaged-food rules apply |
| Salad packed at a central kitchen and delivered to five of your stores | No, not under this law | Not prepared and sold on the same premises. It is a packaged food under FALCPA and needs a full federal label, a higher bar |
That last row matters commercially and almost nobody gets it right. Food produced at a central kitchen and shipped to your stores takes you out of § 199-g and into full federal packaged-food labeling under FALCPA, which is a higher bar. See allergen labeling for food packed in store.
The nine major allergens
This is the same nine as the federal list since the FASTER Act added sesame. New York did not invent a new list.
| Allergen | Commonly missed sources |
|---|---|
| Milk | Butter, ghee, casein, whey, lactose, most 'buttery' spreads, milk chocolate |
| Eggs | Mayonnaise, aioli, egg wash on pastry, some pasta, meringue, some noodles |
| Fish | Worcestershire sauce, Caesar dressing, some fish sauces |
| Crustacean shellfish | Shrimp paste, some stocks, surimi |
| Tree nuts | Marzipan, pesto, nut oils, some pastes |
| Wheat | Soy sauce, most breadcrumbs, seitan, some thickeners |
| Peanuts | Some sauces, some baked goods, peanut oil that is not highly refined |
| Sesame | Tahini, hummus, burger buns, za'atar, some spice blends |
| Soybeans | Soy sauce, tofu, edamame, many emulsifiers, some breads |
Excluded: highly refined oils derived from these allergens, and ingredients exempt under the federal Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act.
What does not have to be on the label
Not required by § 1357 or § 199-g:
- A full ingredient list
- A use-by or sell-by date
- Nutrition information
- Net weight
- A price
- The name and address of the business
- A barcode
- Any particular format, type size, or 'Contains' wording
Other requirements may still apply to the same label from other rules: weights and measures for anything sold by weight, federal FALCPA for anything not made on the premises. This law is a floor, not a ceiling.
New York is not Natasha's Law
| New York (§ 1357 / § 199-g) | UK Natasha's Law (PPDS) | |
|---|---|---|
| In force | November 12, 2026 | October 1, 2021 |
| Full ingredient list required | No | Yes |
| Allergens emphasized in the list | No format prescribed | Yes, emphasized within the ingredient list |
| Product name required | Not by this section | Yes |
| Number of allergens | 9 | 14 |
| Covers | food prepared and packed on the premises before the customer orders | food packed on the same premises before being offered for sale |
| Prescribed label format | None | Yes, set out in retained EU law and FSA guidance |
New York's law is narrower than Natasha's Law. It asks for less. If you already run a Natasha's Law in the UK operation, your labels are more than sufficient for New York. The allergen sets differ, so run your recipes against the nine, but the discipline transfers. If you are starting from scratch in New York, do not assume you need a full UK-style label. You need the allergens, reliably, on every pack.
How this sits with FALCPA and the rest of the US
FALCPA (2004), plus the FASTER Act which added sesame from January 1, 2023, governs packaged food in interstate commerce. It has always exempted food packaged at the retail establishment where it is sold. New York's law fills exactly that gap for New York.
California SB 68, the Allergen Disclosure for Dining Experiences Act. Enacted October 13, 2025, in force July 1, 2026. Chains with 20 or more California locations must disclose the nine allergens on menus or by QR code with a non-digital alternative. A menu law, not a labeling law.
New York PHL § 1356. Already in force. Food service establishments must post an allergy notice for staff and carry allergy wording on physical and online menus, with translations in the twelve most common non-English languages in the state. Civil penalty up to $125 per violation. A menu and notice law, not a labeling law. If you operate in New York you are likely subject to both § 1356 and § 1357, and they ask for different things.
Two states have now legislated allergen disclosure at the point of sale in the last twelve months, in different ways. Where it goes next is not something we will predict on a compliance page.
Enforcement, penalties, and what we do not yet know
What we know:
- AGM § 199-g violations fall under AGM § 39: up to $600 first violation, up to $1,200 second and subsequent.
- PHL § 1357 sits in Article 13 Title 8, enforced by the Department of Health, and in New York City by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
What we do not know, stated as such:
- Neither new section names an enforcing agency or sets a penalty of its own.
- Neither agency has published implementation guidance or an inspection approach.
- There is no case law and no enforcement record, because the law is not in force yet.
- Whether inspectors will treat a missing allergen declaration as a labeling violation or a food safety violation is untested.
Guidance watch
NY Department of Agriculture and Markets
Checked September 3, 2026No § 199-g guidance. Its food labeling page does not yet reference the requirement. Source
NY Department of Health
Checked September 3, 2026No § 1357 guidance published. Source
NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Checked September 3, 2026Health Code Chapter 27 covers food allergy information for food service; nothing yet on § 1357. Source
What to do between now and November 12
List every SKU you pack on site before it is ordered. That list is the scope of the work and it is almost always longer than people think. Include seasonal and weekend-only items.
Get allergen data from every supplier for every component of those SKUs. This is the long pole. Suppliers are slow and this is the step that makes people miss deadlines. Chase in writing, keep the replies.
Decide your label format and lock it. Decide who owns recipe changes.
Print and run real labels on a real line for a week. Find the ones that do not fit, do not scan, or peel in the chiller.
Train the staff who apply the labels, not just the managers. The failure mode is a correct label applied to the wrong tray.
In force.
If you are starting in mid-October, the supplier data step is what will hurt. Start that one first regardless of where you are in the sequence.
How Dill handles this
Allergens derive from a recipe and its supplier data rather than being typed in per label, so a recipe change propagates to every site at once. There is one recipe library across your estate, which means two stores cannot quietly disagree about what is in the same product.
Every print is recorded, so you have an audit trail of exactly what was on a label on a given day. That record is what you actually need if you are ever asked to show your working.
It runs on Brother hardware alongside your existing POS rather than replacing anything you already use.
Egg Salad Sandwich on Wheat Bread
Ingredients: Wheat Bread (Wheat Flour, Water, Butter (Milk), Yeast, Salt), Egg, Mayonnaise (Egg, Soybean Oil, Vinegar, Salt), Chives, Salt, Black Pepper
Use By
Fri, 09/04/2026 · 8:00 PM
Frequently asked questions
When does the New York allergen labeling law take effect?
It takes effect on November 12, 2026, one year to the day after Governor Hochul signed it as Chapter 494 of the Laws of 2025. It applies to food you pack on your premises before a customer orders it. There is no phase-in period and no small-business exemption in the statute.
Who does the New York allergen labeling law apply to?
Any food establishment in New York that packs food on site before a customer orders it and sells it there. The statute names delis, bakeries, sandwich shops, ice cream parlors, cafeterias and food trucks, and separately reaches retail food stores. If you run a grocery deli counter, both sections can apply to you.
Do I have to list every ingredient, or just the allergens?
Just the allergens. Unlike the UK's Natasha's Law, New York does not require a full ingredient list. You must provide a written notification identifying any of the nine major allergens the food contains. You can add a full ingredient list, and many operators do, but the statute does not require it.
Does the law cover sandwiches made to order?
No. The definition of prepackaged food is food prepared, packed and sold on the same premises before a customer orders it. A sandwich made to order and wrapped at the counter is packed after the order, so it falls outside the law. A sandwich wrapped and put in the fridge before anyone orders is covered.
Which allergens do I have to declare?
The nine federal major allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, sesame and soybeans, plus any ingredient containing protein derived from them. This is the same list the FDA uses since the FASTER Act added sesame. Highly refined oils from these allergens and FALCPA-exempt ingredients are excluded.
What does the label have to look like?
The statute does not prescribe a format, type size, or specific wording. It requires a written notification on the package identifying the major allergens. Until state guidance arrives, the safe reading is the federal convention operators already know: a 'Contains:' statement listing the allergens, or the allergen named plainly in the ingredient list.
What is the penalty for not complying?
The two new sections set no penalty of their own. Agriculture and Markets Law § 199-g inherits AGM § 39: up to $600 for a first violation and up to $1,200 for a second and each subsequent violation. Public Health Law § 1357 is enforced through the Department of Health. Anyone quoting a specific fine for a specific violation today is guessing.
Is this the same as Natasha's Law?
No. Natasha's Law is the UK rule and it requires a full ingredient list with allergens emphasized, plus the product name. New York requires only the allergens, in a written notification, and prescribes no format. New York covers nine allergens; the UK covers fourteen. If your UK labels already comply with Natasha's Law, they are more than enough for New York.
Sources
- S5381B
- A6558A
- Agriculture and Markets Law § 199-g
- Public Health Law § 1357
- Public Health Law § 1356
- Agriculture and Markets Law § 39
- Governor's signing announcement
- FDA, Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA)
- FDA, food allergies overview
- NY Dept of Agriculture and Markets, food labeling
- NYC Health Code Chapter 27