# Cottage food label requirements in Alabama

> Informational only, not legal or food-safety advice. Verify with your county health department before printing labels. Last checked 2026-08-05.

## What goes on the label

1. The product name, in words a customer would use.
2. Every ingredient, heaviest first.
3. The major allergens, called out separately from the ingredient list.
4. Who made it: your name or your business name.
5. How to reach you.
6. The date it was made.

## The required statement

Alabama describes what the label has to get across rather than publishing a sentence to copy. A common form of it:

> This food is not inspected by the Health Department.

Close wording is generally accepted.
Minimum type size: 10 point.

## Other requirements

- A disclaimer that the food may contain allergens (wording not fixed by the rule; a common form is "This product may contain allergens.")

## Enforcement

Set centrally, enforced locally, so your own office's answer is the one that counts.
Find yours: https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/about/locations.html

## Detail

ADPH does NOT publish fixed wording. Its page requires only "A statement that the food is not inspected by the Health Department", and Ala. Code 22-20-5.1 phrases it as a statement that the food is not inspected by "the department or local health department". So any faithful paraphrase should pass; the wording above is the common form. The 10-point minimum is not specific to the disclaimer: ADPH states "All the following must be included on each food produced in a cottage food operation in at least 10-point font", covering every label element. Full required set: common or usual name of the food; name of the cottage food operation; home or P.O. Box address; ingredients in descending order of predominance; the not-inspected statement; the allergen disclaimer. Before selling, the operator takes the food safety course certificate, a sample label and a completed cottage food review form to the local county health department; ADPH is explicit that the county reviews the certificate and the labels and does NOT inspect the home kitchen.

## Sources

- Authority: Your county health department (an Alabama Department of Public Health county office; Jefferson and Mobile counties run their own boards of health). The rule itself is written by ADPH.
- Rule: https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/foodsafety/cottage-food.html
- Authority page: https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/foodsafety/cottage-food.html