Cottage food label requirements in Rhode Island
The short version
A label on food made in a home kitchen in Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island, read on 5 August 2026:
Made by a Cottage Food Business Registrant 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
R.I. Gen. Laws § 21-27-6.2. The statement must be in at least ten-point type, clear and conspicuous, in a color contrasting the label background. It is NOT required if the product was prepared in a commercial kitchen licensed by RIDOH. Note the careful wording of the statute: cottage food is exempt from ROUTINE inspection only. The director of health may inspect a cottage food operation at any time, and explicitly may investigate in response to a foodborne illness outbreak, a consumer complaint, or a public health emergency, so "not inspected" is not accurate for Rhode Island and the published line does not say it. Registration with RIDOH is mandatory (about $65/yr, notarized affidavit of compliance) and the operator must first pass a Food Safety Manager course or an ANSI-accredited food handler course. Gross annual sales cap $50,000. Label also needs name, address and telephone number, ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight or volume, and allergen information. Rhode Island has no county health departments, so there is no local desk: everything routes to RIDOH.
Make one
Free, nothing saved, no account. It fills in Rhode Island'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: