Cottage food label requirements in Connecticut
The short version
A label on food made in a home kitchen in Connecticut carries six things wherever you are: what it is, everything in it heaviest first, the major allergens, who made it, how to reach you, and the date. On top of that comes the wording below.
What goes on the label
- The product name, in words a customer would use.
- Every ingredient, heaviest first.
- The major allergens, called out separately from the ingredient list.
- Who made it: your name or your business name.
- How to reach you.
- The date it was made.
What the label has to say
As published for Connecticut, read on 5 August 2026:
Made in a Cottage Food Operation that is not Subject to Routine Government Food Safety Inspection.
This is published as fixed text, so reproduce it exactly rather than rewording it. It has to appear at 10 point type or larger, which is part of the requirement rather than a design choice.
The detail
Connecticut is a LICENSE state, not a registration state: you must complete a DCP-approved food handler course and hold a Cottage Food Operator license (application fee, via the eLicense portal) before selling. Sample labels are submitted with the application and DCP approves them. Other required label elements: name and address of the cottage food operation (address must include city, state and zip), product name, ingredients in descending order by weight WITH sub-ingredients spelled out ("soy sauce (wheat, soybeans, salt)" not "soy sauce"), net weight or net volume INCLUDING the metric equivalent, and federal allergen labeling. The statement must be printed in at least 10-point type in a clear and conspicuous manner. Hand-printed labels are allowed if legible, in durable permanent ink, and sized to meet the 10-point requirement. Local health departments do not enforce the label, but you need local zoning approval and, on private well or septic, water testing before DCP will license you.
Make one
Free, nothing saved, no account. It fills in Connecticut's wording for you and prints a sheet.
Where to verify all of this
Rules change, and this page can lag behind them. Before you rely on any of it: