# Cottage food label requirements in Maine

> Informational only, not legal or food-safety advice. Verify with Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry 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.

## No "not inspected" statement is required

The kitchen is inspected before any sale, so there is nothing to disclaim.

## Detail

Maine is not a cottage food state in the usual sense. Making shelf-stable food at home for sale requires a Home Food Processor (Home Food Manufacturing) license from DACF, and DACF inspects; there is therefore no 'this kitchen was not inspected' disclosure to print, because the kitchen is inspected. Under DACF Rule Chapter 345 section 7, a label is required only when the product is sold to stores, sold wholesale for further distribution, or retailed by any manner of public marketing, and must then show: common or usual name of the product; ingredients in order of predominance; net weight or numerical count; name and address of the producer, manufacturer or distributor with zip code. 'When sold directly to a consumer from the home, the product does not require a label.' Refrigerated products such as cheesecake or cream pie need a commercial license, not a home license. Canned shelf-stable products must be cleared by a process authority (University of Maine Food Testing Services) before licensing. Separate layer to check: under the Maine Food Sovereignty Act (7 M.R.S. ch. 8-F), a municipality, plantation, or county (for unorganized territory) may adopt an ordinance covering direct producer-to-consumer transactions, and the State then does not enforce its food licensing laws for those transactions in that town. Over a hundred Maine towns have done so. Ask the municipal clerk whether your town has one and what, if anything, it requires on a label.

## Sources

- Authority: Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF), Division of Quality Assurance and Regulations (207-287-3200, dacf@maine.gov)
- Rule: https://www.maine.gov/dacf/qar/permits_and_licenses/documents/home-license-101.pdf
- Authority page: https://www.maine.gov/dacf/qar/permits_and_licenses/index.shtml