New York State · S5381B · Chapter 494
Allergen labels for the food you pack before customers order.
From November 12, 2026, every food establishment in New York State must put a written allergen notice on food it prepares and packs on site before customers order it. Delis, bakeries, sandwich shops, ice cream parlors, food trucks. There is no small-business exemption.
19 days until the law takes effect on November 12, 2026.
Free for up to 5 active products. No card needed to start.
Check a recipe now, free
No account needed. Nothing you type is saved.
1. Enter your ingredients
Type each recipe once, the way you'd say it.
Illustrations of each step — not screenshots of the app.
How it works
Step 1
Type each recipe once
Enter what goes into each item you pack, the way you'd say it: rye bread, swiss cheese, mayonnaise.
Step 2
Prepack works out the allergens
Every ingredient is looked up in a fixed table of the nine major allergens, never guessed by AI. Anything it can't identify is flagged, and the label won't print until you tell Prepack which allergens it contains.
Step 3
Print on labels you already own
Standard Avery sticker sheets, or a DYMO or 4″ × 2″ thermal label printer. Every label you print is saved, so you can show what you printed and when.
What you get
Real labels, ready to print
Ingredients in order, allergens in bold capitals, and a CONTAINS line at the end — as on the example label (PDF).
Prints on:
- Avery 5163 — 2" × 4"
- Avery 5164 — 3⅓" × 4"
- Avery 5160 — 1" × 2⅝"
- DYMO 30323 — 2⅛" × 4"
- DYMO 30336 — 1" × 2⅛"
- Thermal roll — 4" × 2"
A record of every label
Every label you print is saved exactly as it printed, with the date. You can re-create any past label from your record, and export the record as a spreadsheet on the Shop plan.
Knows when a label is out of date
Change a recipe after printing and Prepack shows that the label you printed no longer matches, so you know to print a new one.
How Prepack reviews allergens
Each ingredient is checked against the nine major allergens using a fixed table, never an AI guess. Every ingredient ends up in one of three states:
- CONTAINS
The ingredient carries one of the nine. It goes on the label's CONTAINS line, and is named in bold in the ingredient list.
- None of the nine
Prepack's table knows the ingredient and it carries none of the nine major allergens.
- Needs checking
Unknown, or it depends on the brand you buy — deli meats, mayonnaise, cooking oils. The label is blocked until you tell Prepack which allergens it contains. Marking it as checked isn't enough.
How Prepack read that label's recipe
Each line is checked against the nine major allergens. Two lines depend on the brand you buy, so the shop owner confirmed them.
| Ingredient | Major allergens |
|---|---|
| rye bread | WHEAT |
| roast turkey breast | MILK · confirmed by owner |
| swiss cheese | MILK |
| mayonnaise | EGG · confirmed by owner |
| romaine | none of the nine |
| dijon mustard | none of the nine |
The label ends with: CONTAINS: MILK, EGG, WHEAT
Made for food you pack ahead
If you pack food on your premises before anyone orders it, it needs an allergen label.
Illustrative images — not Prepack customers.
Delis and sandwich shops
Sandwiches and salads wrapped in the morning for the grab-and-go fridge.
Bakeries
Cookies, muffins and pastries bagged ahead and set out on the counter.
Cafés, food trucks and ice cream shops
Fruit cups, salad boxes and pints packed before service starts.
Pricing
Frequently asked questions
What is Prepack?
Prepack is an online tool for making allergen labels for food you pack before customers order. You enter each recipe once, Prepack works out which of the nine major food allergens it contains, and you print clear labels on standard sticker sheets or a label printer. Every label you print is saved exactly as printed, so you can show what you printed and when.
Who is Prepack designed for?
Food businesses in New York State that pack food on site before customers order it: delis, bakeries, sandwich shops, ice cream parlors, cafeterias, food trucks and retail food stores. It's built for busy owners and staff at a single location.
How does Prepack help prepare allergen labels?
Type each recipe as a list of ingredients. Prepack looks every ingredient up, shows you the allergens it found, and builds a label with the ingredient list and a CONTAINS line. You confirm, then print. If you change a recipe later, Prepack shows that the label you printed before is out of date.
Which allergens does Prepack check for?
The nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame.
Does Prepack automatically determine every allergen in my product?
No. Prepack uses a fixed lookup table of ingredients, never an AI guess, and it only knows what's in that table. If it can't identify an ingredient, or the answer depends on the brand you buy (deli meats, mayonnaise and cooking oils are common examples), the label won't print until you tell Prepack which allergens that ingredient contains. Marking it as checked isn't enough. You remain responsible for checking your suppliers' ingredient panels and confirming anything uncertain.
Does Prepack guarantee that my labels comply with New York requirements?
No. Prepack helps you make clear, consistent labels from the information you enter, but it doesn't inspect your kitchen or check your suppliers, and it does not guarantee that a label meets New York's requirements or satisfies any inspector or regulator. It isn't legal advice. For the rules themselves, check current guidance from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and your local health department.
Is Prepack free to use?
Yes, for up to 5 active products, with unlimited printing and your full label record. You can archive products you no longer pack to make room. The Shop plan, $19 a month or $190 a year, adds unlimited products and CSV export of your label record. The free allergen checker needs no account at all.
Can I cancel my subscription?
Yes. The account owner can cancel at any time from Settings → Manage billing, which opens Stripe's secure billing page and shows when your Shop plan will end before you confirm. Nothing is deleted when Shop ends: your products, recipes and label records stay. Products beyond your 5 oldest active ones become read-only, and their existing valid labels can still be printed.
What Prepack does, and what it doesn't
- Prepack makes a label from the ingredients you enter. You confirm your own ingredients and allergens, especially anything that depends on the brand you buy.
- Prepack doesn't inspect your kitchen or check your suppliers, and does not guarantee that a label meets any law or regulator's requirements.
- Prepack is built around New York's allergen labeling law (S5381B). It doesn't implement other states' labeling rules — if you're outside New York, check the requirements that apply to you.
- Nothing on this site is legal advice.
Want the details? Read New York's allergen labeling law in plain English or the terms. Already have an account? Sign in.
Get your labels ready before November 12, 2026.
Start free with up to 5 active products, or check a recipe without an account.