# Cottage food label requirements in Tennessee

> Informational only, not legal or food-safety advice. Verify with Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Food Safety 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 Tennessee:

> This product was produced at a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens.

Published as fixed text: reproduce it exactly.

## Detail

Both sentences are one required disclosure — the allergen sentence is not optional and is not a substitute for naming allergens. Under the Tennessee Food Freedom Act (T.C.A. 53-1-118) homemade food is exempt from state labelling law ONLY IF this disclosure and the other conditions are met, so the exemption is conditional on the label, not instead of it. Must also be provided: producer's name, home address and telephone number; the food's common or usual name; ingredients in descending order of predominance; and for potentially hazardous / TCS items, handling information. The disclosure need not be on a sticker: it may be on a label affixed to the package, a label on a bulk container, a placard at the point of sale if the item is neither packaged nor from a bulk container, or the webpage if sold only online. For telephone or custom orders the seller may disclose verbally instead but must have the rest available on request. Section 8 of the act preempts counties and municipalities from regulating homemade food, so there is no local desk. Public Chapter 431 (HB 130, effective 1 July 2025) opened the act to time/temperature control for safety foods and did NOT change this sentence.

## Sources

- Authority: Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Food Safety (issues no permit and runs no inspection); Tennessee Department of Health only when investigating a reported foodborne illness
- Rule: https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Bill/SB0693.pdf
- Authority page: https://www.tn.gov/agriculture/consumers/food-safety/tennessee-food-freedom-act.html