For an afternoon tea party, standard custard creams suit a shared table only when their current ingredient labels fit the guests’ needs; the examples here contain wheat and milk. If someone needs to avoid wheat or gluten, choose a specifically labelled alternative such as Schar Gluten Free Custard Creams and check the full pack against any other allergy requirements. For food supplied by a state-funded school in England, assess the separate school-food rules rather than treating retail HFSS promotion rules as a menu decision.
Choose a pack that fits the number of guests and the other biscuits on the table. Keep its ingredients available to read: the standard custard creams described by Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, M&S, Iceland Foods and Joybuy contain wheat and milk.
Set out a clearly identified alternative rather than relying on the appearance of a familiar custard cream. The researched Schar variety is labelled wheat free and gluten free, but its full current label still needs to fit the guest’s other requirements.
If a state-funded school or its caterer supplies the food, check the school-food requirements that apply to the menu. Department for Education school-food guidance and Department of Health and Social Care retail HFSS promotion guidance address different settings.
Start with each guest’s ingredient requirements, then work out how many biscuits to serve and how you will keep their packaging information available.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Ingredients and allergens | Read the exact pack for wheat, milk and precautionary allergen statements. If wheat or gluten must be avoided, look for an explicit label that meets that requirement; check other allergies separately. | I need every guest to be able to identify which biscuits fit their requirements, rather than assuming a standard and a free-from biscuit are interchangeable. |
| Pack size and portions | Compare pack weight with guest numbers and the other food being served. The researched standard packs include 200 g and 400 g sizes; the Schar alternative is a 125 g pack of five 25 g portions. | For a mixed table, I can count the separately packed alternative for the guests who need it and plan the shared biscuits around everyone else. |
| Nutrition information | Compare labels on the same basis, such as per biscuit or per 100 g, and check the stated serving size. Tesco lists 59 kcal, 3.4 g sugars and 1.5 g saturates per biscuit for its researched 400 g pack. | I want to see what a serving represents before deciding how many biscuits to put out. A per-biscuit figure should not be compared directly with a per-100 g figure. |
| Storage and presentation | Follow the current pack’s storage directions, including any advice for after opening. Retain its ingredient and allergen information when biscuits are moved to a serving plate. | If I prepare the table ahead of time, I still want guests to be able to check the label beside the biscuits. |
| School-provided food | For food supplied by a state-funded school in England, check the applicable school-food standards and the particular menu. Department for Education guidance covers school food; Department of Health and Social Care HFSS guidance concerns qualifying retail promotions and placement. | I’m organising a school tea and need a decision about the food being served, not an assumption drawn from how a product is promoted in shops. |
The standard products described by the named retailers contain wheat and milk. Asda’s standard pack also carries precautionary advice for rye, barley, oats and sesame, so a biscuit’s appearance cannot establish allergen suitability.
Read the current ingredients and allergen statement for each exact product. Keep a separately identified alternative only if its own label fits the guest’s requirements.
Department of Health and Social Care guidance addresses qualifying retail HFSS promotions and placement. Department for Education guidance addresses food supplied in state-funded schools in England; one framework does not answer a question governed by the other.
For a school-supplied tea, assess the menu against the current school-food requirements rather than deciding from a product’s perceived HFSS status.
The researched Schar 125 g pack contains five 25 g portions, whereas the standard packs discussed here include larger sharing sizes. Pack weight alone does not tell you how many guests can receive a separate option.
Count the guests who need that option and check the labelled portions before buying.
Guests cannot check ingredients from a decanted biscuit, and the information for a product can change with its formulation.
Keep the current wrapper beside the plate, or provide an accurate account of its current allergen declaration.
These examples illustrate pack formats and ingredient checks; a brand name alone does not establish suitability for a particular guest.
Tesco’s researched standard custard cream comes in a 400 g pack for a shared tea table.
Asda’s researched standard 400 g pack contains vanilla-cream sandwich biscuits.
The researched 200 g standard pack offers a smaller quantity for a mixed biscuit selection.
M&S describes its 165 g Extra Cream Custard Creams as having more vanilla cream and real custard powder.
The researched Crawford’s product is a 300 g vanilla-cream sandwich biscuit.
The researched Tasties Custard Creams listing describes a 300 g branded pack.
This Schar custard cream is an option for a guest who needs a biscuit labelled gluten free; check the current pack for their full set of ingredient requirements.
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A labelled gluten-free custard cream to consider when setting out a separate afternoon-tea option. The pack is 125 g; check its current ingredients and allergen advice against each guest’s requirements before serving.
Do not assume so. The standard Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, M&S, Crawford’s and researched McVitie’s products contain wheat and milk ingredients. Check the exact current pack, including precautionary allergen advice, and provide a separately labelled option where one fits the guest’s needs.
The researched Schar Gluten Free Custard Creams are labelled wheat free and gluten free and come in five 25 g portions. Keep them identifiable as a separate option, and check the full current label for any other ingredient or allergy requirements.
No: an HFSS description alone does not settle a school-menu decision. In England, Department of Health and Social Care HFSS guidance concerns qualifying retail promotions and placement, while Department for Education guidance covers the separate requirements for food supplied in state-funded schools. Check the current school-food rules against the particular menu.
Follow the pack’s storage directions, including any instruction to use an airtight container after opening. Keep the original wrapper available when serving so guests can read the current ingredients and allergen declaration.
Keep accurate, current allergen information for the exact biscuits being served outside their packaging. Food Standards Agency guidance covers allergen-information requirements for food businesses, including institutional caterers; retaining the product details helps staff answer guests’ questions about what is on the plate.