Labeling your cottage foods

Your cottage food labels must contain specific information.

YOUR LABELS MUST CONTAIN

  • Your business name and your home address.  If you register with DSHS after September 1, 2025, you can get a unique identifier that you can use on your labels instead of your address. 
  • The common or usual name of the product.
  • You must disclose any major allergens that are present in the food. At this date, the 9 major allergens are:
    • Eggs
    • Nuts
    • Peanuts
    • Soy
    • Milk
    • Wheat
    • Fish
    • Shellfish
    • Sesame
  • As of September 1, 2025, the new statement of non-inspection is: “THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION.”
  • ONLY IF you are selling refrigerated goods or wholesale, you must include the date on which the food was produced.

Helpful tips

  • While it’s not required to list all the ingredients, you can still do that; listing all the ingredients automatically discloses any allergens, so that still fulfills that requirement. Also, many customers appreciate full disclosure of ingredients.
  • You can add statements to your label, such as a statement that the food was made in a kitchen where nuts are in use.
  • You cannot make a blanket statement that the food MAY contain allergens. You must disclose which allergens are actually present.
  • The new statement of non-inspection must be in all caps (sorry).