Cottage food rules
Missouri Cottage Food Law Labeling: What Goes on Yours
What to put on a Missouri cottage food label, in plain words.
On this page
What to remember
- Label all foods you intend to sell.
- Use your operation name and address.
- Name the food in plain terms.
- List ingredients from most to least by weight.
- Add the required home kitchen statement.
If you are new to selling from your home kitchen, start with the main Missouri cottage food law guide so you know what you can sell. Then come back to the label. A label carries who made the food, what it is, and what is in it.
What Missouri asks for on the label
The core list is short. Your label carries the name and address of the operation, the common name of the food, and the ingredients in descending order by weight. The label must also carry the additional required statement about the home kitchen. Missouri law directs the department to make rules requiring a cottage food operation to label all foods it intends to sell to consumers.
Start with your operation details
Put the name and address of your cottage food operation on the label.
Name the food
Use the common name of the food. The label needs the common name, not a nickname.
List ingredients by weight
Start with the ingredient that weighs the most and work down to the one that weighs the least.
Add the home kitchen statement
The label must carry the additional required statement about the home kitchen.
Label every food you plan to sell
The statute directs rules requiring a cottage food operation to label all foods it intends to sell to consumers.
What Missouri does not require
Missouri has no cap on how much a cottage food producer can earn, and there is no routine inspection of the home kitchen. That does not make the label optional. The statute still directs the department to make rules requiring labels on all foods a cottage food operation intends to sell. If eggs are on your list, the Missouri cottage food law and eggs guide is the next stop.
Where to check the current rules
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services publishes Home-Based Kitchen Food Production Guidance. It provides standards, guidelines, and consistent information for people who provide safe, quality food to consumers. Use it with the statute and the label details above. The statute is the place to confirm that the department is directed to require labels on all foods intended for sale.
Common questions
What has to be on a Missouri cottage food label?
The operation's name and address, the common name of the food, ingredients in descending order by weight, and the additional required statement about the home kitchen.
Does Missouri limit what I can earn from cottage food?
No. There is no cap on how much a Missouri cottage food producer can earn.
Will my home kitchen be inspected?
There is no routine inspection of the home kitchen.
Do I have to label every food I intend to sell?
The statute directs the department to make rules requiring a cottage food operation to label all foods it intends to sell to consumers.
Where can I find the state guidance?
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services publishes Home-Based Kitchen Food Production Guidance. It provides standards, guidelines, and consistent information for people who provide safe, quality food to consumers.
Sources
General information, not legal advice. Rules and label wording can change, so check the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services guidance and the statute before you sell.