# Cottage food label requirements in Louisiana

> Informational only, not legal or food-safety advice. Verify with Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health, Bureau of Sanitarian Services 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

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

> This food was not produced in a licensed or regulated facility.

Close wording is generally accepted.

## Detail

La. R.S. 40:4.9(D)(1)(a) does NOT dictate wording. It requires the preparer to 'affix to any such food offered for sale a label which clearly indicates that the food was not produced in a licensed or regulated facility.' The wording above is a common-form rendering of that substance, not statutory text. Raw honey that is not pasteurized, filtered, or otherwise processed to remove natural pollen is exempt from the label requirement. Other conditions in the same section: the exemption does not apply at all to a preparer whose gross annual sales are $30,000 or more; bread/cake/cookie/pie preparers may not employ anyone to help; no sales to a retail business or individual for resale; the preparer must hold a current sales tax certificate. House Bill 150 of the 2025 Regular Session would have repealed and replaced 40:4.9 with a fuller label spec (name, address, ingredients) but it died in Senate committee, so 40:4.9 as quoted is still controlling.

## Sources

- Authority: Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health, Bureau of Sanitarian Services (Food and Drug Unit)
- Rule: https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=98431