# Cottage food label requirements in Pennsylvania

> Informational only, not legal or food-safety advice. Verify with Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services, via your PDA regional office and its assigned Food Sanitarian 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

This is the important one to get right: Pennsylvania is NOT a cottage food state. Anything made in a home or home-style kitchen for sale must be registered with PDA as a Limited Food Establishment, and the registration is granted only after a plan review and an on-site inspection of the kitchen (application at least 60 days before production; notify the sanitarian 10 days before production to schedule the registration inspection; ~$35). Because the kitchen IS inspected, PDA's label list contains no not-inspected disclaimer at all. The required label items are: name of product, name and address of manufacturer, ingredients in decreasing order by weight, allergen declaration if needed, and net weight or unit count. Bakery items made from scratch or mix and sold directly to the consumer by the baker are exempt from on-product labeling entirely, though ingredient information must be available on request; product sold through a retail facility the baker does not own needs full labeling on the package or posted at the display. Pets may not be present in the home. Only shelf-stable, non-TCS foods. Sale venues are a separate license: PDA's farmers market guidance says retail food facility licensing and inspection is handled by "the appropriate authorized agency, typically either the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) or a local or county health department," so the market or stand a baker sells at may answer to a local health department even though the kitchen registration does not.

## Sources

- Authority: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services, via your PDA regional office and its assigned Food Sanitarian
- Rule: https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/pda/documents/consumer_protection/foodsafety/retail-food/retail-food/documents/APPLICATION%20PACKET%20-%20LIMITED%20FOOD%20ESTABLISHMENT.pdf
- Authority page: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pda/food/food-safety/limited-food-establishment-