# Cottage food label requirements in Delaware

> Informational only, not legal or food-safety advice. Verify with Delaware Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, Office of Food Protection. Statewide 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

As published for Delaware:

> This food is made in a Cottage Food Establishment and is NOT subject to routine Government Food Safety Inspections

Published as fixed text: reproduce it exactly.
Minimum type size: 10 point.

## Detail

You must register as a Cottage Food Establishment (CFE) with the Division of Public Health; plan review applies. Label elements per 4458A 8.2.1: name of the CFE, name of the product, "town/city, Delaware" (NOT your street address), phone number or email of the CFE, net weight or unit count, and date of production or lot number. Plus ingredients in decreasing order by weight (8.2.2, with a small-label exception allowing the list to be given on request) and major food allergen source names (8.2.3). The 10-point type and contrasting color rule is 8.2.5 and reads as applying to the label generally, not only to the disclaimer. Beyond labels: 4458A 8.4 and 8.5 require a written recall/contingency plan, product coding, and batch records (product type, production date, lot number, sale date and location) kept for 3 years. Only non-TCS shelf-stable foods; cannabis is expressly excluded by a recent amendment.

## Sources

- Authority: Delaware Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, Office of Food Protection. Statewide; Delaware has no county health departments doing this.
- Rule: https://archive.regulations.delaware.gov/AdminCode/title16/Department%20of%20Health%20and%20Social%20Services/Division%20of%20Public%20Health/Health%20Systems%20Protection%20(HSP)/4458A.shtml