Name one takeaway item, the food it will hold, and the intended use. A food-contact row is ready only when an evidence reference covers that exact item and those use conditions. In England, record whether the item is banned with no exemption, allowed as packaging filled at the point of sale, or not plastic. Compostable plastic is still plastic. An outside-England row stays outside this page's checked supply scope. Disposal is confirmed on the packaging component sheet, not here. A completed row is a purchasing record, not a regulatory approval, and not a better pack.

The packaging guide keeps the disposal route. Plastic Packaging Tax stays on the tax guide. Return to the hospitality overview for the takeaway list. This page does not name a supplier.

What one item check decides

Write what has been checked for this item and this use, and what remains waiting. A document title alone, or a component-row label, is not verified suitability.

Defra’s England guidance, last updated 7 October 2024, bans the supply of single-use plastic cutlery and of expanded or extruded polystyrene food and drink containers, with no exemptions. The restriction includes biodegradable, compostable and recycled plastic, and items with a plastic coating or lining. Plates, bowls and trays may be supplied to another business or as packaging that is pre-filled or filled at the point of sale. Those exemptions are England supply rules. They are not an environmental ranking, and this sheet does not import them to another nation.

GOV.UK food-contact authorisation guidance, published 29 December 2020, says all food-contact materials must comply with assimilated Regulation 1935/2004. GOV.UK’s food labelling and packaging overview points to material-specific declaration requirements. This page does not claim that every material legally requires a formal declaration of compliance. A wooden item can still need written suitability evidence for the intended food and use.

An outside_england row cannot become ready here, even when a document and a component reference exist. Source the applicable supply rules separately.

Fill in one row per item

Download both files. Save a copy of the blank file and type into that copy.

The files are plain CSV. They do not choose a supplier, rank materials, or confirm the disposal route.

ready needs food_contact document_named, an evidence reference that covers the exact item and intended use, suitability_checked filled, england_supply of not_plastic or allowed_as_packaging, and a component_reference. banned_no_exemption cannot be ready. claim_only, missing and not_checked stay not_ready. outside_england is outside_checked_scope.

Worked example: a wooden fork with use evidence, and items that stay closed

The items are fictional purchasing records for Northgate Kitchen. The kitchen, letter F-12 and the Wales kiosk row are invented.

Item What was written Status
Wooden fork Ready-to-eat hot food, up to 70°C for two hours. Letter F-12 dated 1 March 2026: untreated birch wood, no coating, covering this fork and those conditions. England supply not_plastic. Component fork-row. Ready. A purchasing record, not a regulatory approval, not a declaration of compliance required for every material, and not a lower-impact result.
Expanded-polystyrene clamshell Hot takeaway meal, fill at the counter. banned_no_exemption. Not ready.
Compostable box Pack labelled compostable. Food-contact claim_only. England supply not_checked. Not ready.
Plastic salad bowl Might be filled at the counter. allowed_as_packaging, but food-contact evidence missing. Not ready.
Paper tray, Wales kiosk Document named. outside_england. Outside this checked supply scope. England's exemptions are not imported.

Limits

A ready row is not a life-cycle result and not a tax calculation. The component sheet still has to confirm the disposal route for this site. England’s packaging-in-the-food-waste exclusion stays on the packaging guide. This sheet checks England’s supply rules only. Before a public packaging claim, use the green-claims guide.

Sources