Cottage food rules
Cottage Food Law Label Example: What to Put on Yours
A simple label example you can read out loud, and the state rules behind each line.
On this page
What to remember
- Your state decides the words on the label, not a template you found online.
- Alabama asks for the name and address of the operation, a list of ingredients, and a statement that the food is not inspected by the Health Department.
- Utah’s guidelines include two label examples and a minimum print height for required information.
- Virginia requires the common allergen word on the label and the required information on the principal display panel.
- California points cottage food operators to a published list of labeling requirements.
If you sell in Florida, the label conversation starts somewhere specific, and we walk through it in what the Florida cottage food label has to say. The shape is the same everywhere: a few lines of plain text that tell a buyer who made the food and what is in it.
A plain label example, line by line
Read this as lines of text on the front of a box. First line, the name and address of the operation, in the form Alabama asks for: Anna’s Kitchen, 14 Mill Street, Anniston, Alabama. Second line, the ingredients: flour, butter, sugar, eggs, pecans. Third line, the Alabama statement: this food is not inspected by the Health Department. Fourth line, the common allergen words your state wants to see, here wheat, milk, and eggs, either inside the ingredient line or standing on their own. Fifth line, anything else your own state’s list names. Trim the lines your state does not ask for and add the ones it does.
Build yours in order
Start with who and where
Put the name and address of your cottage food operation on the label. Alabama lists both as required.
Write the ingredients in plain words
Alabama requires a list of the ingredients. Keep the words a customer would recognize on sight.
Add the statement your state requires
Alabama asks for a statement that the food is not inspected by the Health Department. Use your own state’s wording, not Alabama’s.
Name the allergens
In Virginia, when an allergen is included as an ingredient, the common key allergen word must appear in the ingredient statement or in an allergen statement.
Set the print size
Utah’s labeling guidelines give a minimum print height for required information and show examples for a principal display panel between 5 and 25 square inches.
Check the state list before you print
California requires cottage food products to be labeled in line with state and federal labeling regulations and publishes a list of labeling requirements. Print that list and work down it.
What individual states ask for
Alabama keeps it short. Labels there must include the name and address of the cottage food operation, a statement that the food is not inspected by the Health Department, and a list of the ingredients. Three items, and none of them are optional.
California takes a different route. Cottage food products must be labeled in accordance with state and federal labeling regulations, and the state publishes a list of labeling requirements meant to help cottage food operators get it right. Treat that published list as your checklist rather than guessing from a photo of someone else’s jar.
Utah publishes basic labeling guidelines that list the information required by law to appear on a home produced food label before the product is offered for sale, and it specifies a minimum print height for all of that required information. Page two shows two label examples with text sizes for a principal display panel between 5 and 25 square inches, which is handy when you are sizing a sticker for a small box.
Virginia requires product packages to be labeled with the information required by law on the principal display panel. It also has a clear rule on allergens: when an allergen is included as an ingredient, the common key allergen word must be included on the label in the ingredient statement or in an allergen statement. Our guide to cottage food law in Virginia covers the rest of that state’s rules.
Where the label goes and how big the print is
Placement matters as much as wording. Virginia asks for the required information on the principal display panel, the part of the package a buyer sees first. Utah’s guidelines pair that idea with a minimum print height, so the words are readable at arm’s length on a market table. Before you order stickers, measure the panel you have and set your type size to match your state’s guidance.
One more Virginia rule is worth knowing before you post a photo. Under the home kitchen food processing exemption there, a business may advertise on the internet but may not offer for sale on the internet. Advertising and taking the order are two different acts, and the label on the package still has to be right when the food changes hands.
Every state writes its own list, so the example above is a starting shape, not a finished label. Work from your state’s published guidance, keep a copy of it where you bake, and revisit the label when you add a product. Our guide to cottage food law in Kansas shows how differently the same idea can be written.
Common questions
Do I have to list ingredients on a cottage food label?
Alabama requires a list of the ingredients on the label. Virginia's rules focus on allergens: when an allergen is included as an ingredient, the common key allergen word must be on the label in the ingredient statement or in an allergen statement. Check your own state's published list for the exact wording.
How big does the text need to be?
Utah's labeling guidelines specify a minimum print height for all required information and show two label examples with text sizes for a principal display panel between 5 and 25 square inches. Your state may set its own number.
Where on the package does the label go?
Virginia requires the information required by law to appear on the principal display panel, the part of the package a buyer sees first.
Can I sell from my website?
In Virginia, under the home kitchen food processing exemption, a business may advertise on the internet but may not offer for sale on the internet. Confirm the rule for your own state before you take an order online.
Does California have its own label list?
Yes. California requires cottage food products to be labeled in accordance with state and federal labeling regulations, and it publishes a list of labeling requirements to help cottage food operators.
Sources
General information only, not legal advice. Label rules differ by state and change over time, so confirm the current requirements with your own state's food program before you print.