# Cottage food label requirements in Rhode Island

> Informational only, not legal or food-safety advice. Verify with Rhode Island Department of Health 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 Rhode Island:

> Made by a Cottage Food Business Registrant that is not Subject to Routine Government Food Safety Inspection

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

## 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.

## Sources

- Authority: Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) — the director of health issues the cottage food certificate of registration and inspects
- Rule: https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE21/21-27/21-27-6.2.htm