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What cottage food labels must include

Cottage food is a state category, not a single federal label. FDA’s How to Start a Food Business page says a private residence is not a “facility” under 21 CFR 1.227 and is not required to register with FDA. The same page tells a home-based food business to learn FDA rules and the state and local health rules. Meat, poultry, and certain processed egg products are regulated by USDA, not by these FDA labeling sections.

There is no one sentence that every state’s cottage-food label must use. Below, the federal pieces are the packaged-food requirements that apply when FDA labeling applies, which FDA describes as food introduced into or offered for sale in interstate commerce. The home-kitchen line is whatever the state statute or the state agriculture or health department actually requires. Two official examples are quoted so the difference is visible. They are not a list of every state.

Federal pieces on a packaged food

These five items are the core of an FDA packaged-food label. They are separate from Nutrition Facts. An exemption from 21 CFR 101.9 does not remove them.

  1. Statement of identity. 21 CFR 101.3: the principal display panel bears, as one of its principal features, the identity of the food. Use the name specified by federal law or regulation, or if none, the common or usual name, or if none, an appropriately descriptive term. It is in bold type, in a size reasonably related to the most prominent printed matter, in lines generally parallel to the base of the package.
  2. Net quantity of contents. 21 CFR 101.7: the principal display panel declares the net quantity in weight, measure, numerical count, or a combination. A solid, semisolid, or viscous food is declared by weight. Statements of weight use avoirdupois pounds and ounces. The declaration is a distinct item in the bottom 30 percent of the principal display panel (packages of 5 square inches or less are excepted from that placement), and it is repeated on each alternate principal panel. Paragraph (p) allows an accurate metric statement on the principal display panel or another panel. The section treats that metric line as optional, not as a required second declaration.
  3. Ingredients. 21 CFR 101.4: ingredients required to be declared are listed by their common or usual name in descending order of predominance by weight. The ingredient you use the most goes first.
  4. Major food allergens. The FDA food-allergies page describes the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 and the FASTER Act. The nine major food allergens are milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame. Sesame is the ninth, effective January 1, 2023. The source food is declared at least once, either in parentheses after the ingredient (“whey (milk)”) or in a Contains statement immediately after or next to the ingredient list (“Contains wheat, milk, and soy.”). The type of tree nut, and the species of fish and Crustacean shellfish, are declared. A “may contain” or “produced in a facility” advisory is not required by that law. FDA’s page also says these labeling requirements do not apply to food placed in a wrapper or container after a customer’s order at the point of purchase.
  5. Name and place of business. 21 CFR 101.5: the label specifies conspicuously the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor. If that person did not manufacture the food, the name is qualified by the connection, such as “Manufactured for ______” or “Distributed by ______.” The place of business includes the street address, city, state, and ZIP code. The street address may be omitted if it is shown in a current city directory or telephone directory.

Nutrition Facts are 21 CFR 101.9. Small-business and other exemptions are in 101.9(j), and a nutrient content claim, a health claim, or other nutrition information removes the exemptions small sellers rely on. Florida’s cottage-food statute, quoted below, says the same thing in state law: if any nutritional claim is made, appropriate nutritional information as specified by federal labeling requirements is on the label. The federal tests are on the farmers market page and the exemption page. A draft panel can be made in the label maker.

The home-kitchen statement depends on the state

21 CFR 101 does not contain one required phrase such as “Made in a home kitchen.” States that authorize cottage food often require a disclaimer, and the words, the type size, and the other label items are in that state’s statute or in the page published by its department of agriculture or health. Use the official text for the state where the food is made and sold. The two examples below were read from those official sources. They show that the sentence is not the same everywhere. They are not a 50-state survey, and a state that is not listed here may require different words or may not have this kind of law.

Florida

Florida Statutes section 500.80(3) says a cottage food operation may only sell cottage food products which are prepackaged with a label affixed that contains:

New Jersey

The New Jersey Department of Health cottage-food labeling page, citing N.J.A.C. 8:24-11.4(c), says the label or tag must include all six of the following:

New Jersey’s page requires a Contains statement as part of that state’s list. Federal allergen labeling, described above, also allows the source food in parentheses in the ingredient list. Follow the stricter list that applies to the sale.

If your state is not Florida or New Jersey, do not copy either sentence onto the package. Open the cottage-food statute or the department of agriculture or health page for that state and use its words.

Questions

What does FDA require on a packaged food label?

When FDA packaged-food labeling applies, the principal display panel carries a statement of identity under 21 CFR 101.3 and a net quantity of contents under 21 CFR 101.7. Ingredients are listed by common or usual name in descending order of predominance by weight under 21 CFR 101.4. The label names the manufacturer, packer, or distributor and the place of business under 21 CFR 101.5. Major food allergens are declared under the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, and sesame is the ninth major food allergen under the FASTER Act.

Does FDA require the words “Made in a home kitchen”?

No single FDA sentence says “Made in a home kitchen.” Cottage food programs are state law, and the required words differ. Florida Statutes section 500.80(3) requires: “Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida’s food safety regulations.” The New Jersey Department of Health requires this exact sentence: “This food is prepared pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:24-11 in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Department of Health.” Other states use other words. Read the official page for the state where the food is made and sold.

Which allergens have to be named?

FDA’s food-allergies page lists nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame. Sesame applies as of January 1, 2023. The source food is declared either in parentheses after the ingredient or in a Contains statement. The type of tree nut and the species of fish and Crustacean shellfish are declared. A “may contain” advisory is not required by that law.

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