Home kitchen label rules in Nova Scotia
The short version
A label on food made in a home kitchen in Nova Scotia 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. Unusually, Nova Scotia asks for no "not inspected" line on top of that.
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.
Nova Scotia asks for no "not inspected" line
Nova Scotia publishes no such wording, so there is nothing you have to print. Everything else above still applies.
Nothing obliges you to say anything about inspection. If you want to anyway, this is a reasonable form of words, and it is ours rather than Nova Scotia's: no inspector can require it, and none should object to it.
Made in a home kitchen that is not inspected by the Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Climate Change.
The detail
Nova Scotia has a real permit exemption and imposes NO label requirements at all on it. Food Safety Regulations (Health Protection Act), s.3(1)(a) exempts "a dwelling in which food is produced for sale at a public market, temporary food service event, bake sale or directly to the final consumer where (i) the end product (A) does not contain ingredients capable of supporting the growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms, including meat, fish, dairy or egg products, and (B) has a high salt or sugar content, low moisture content or a low pH that inhibits the growth of disease-supporting microorganisms". The department's fact sheet "Preparing low-risk home-baked goods for sale" (https://novascotia.ca/nse/food-protection/docs/Home_Prepared_Low_Risk_Baked_Goods_Fact_Sheet.pdf) says: "If the food you are preparing is considered to be 'low risk' you do not need a permit under the Nova Scotia Food Safety Regulations." You MAY sell at public markets, bake sales, temporary events, and direct to the person who will eat it. You may NOT sell to restaurants, cafeterias, caterers, bakeries, convenience or grocery stores, coffee shops, or to hospitals, health centres, special care or long-term care homes, or licensed child-care centres. The fact sheet's entire packaging section is "Use proper food-grade packaging"; there is no labelling section and no disclosure line. It also warns that CFIA rules and municipal/town requirements may still apply, which is the one place a local desk can enter the picture.
Make one
Free, nothing saved, no account. It leaves the inspection line off, as Nova Scotia asks, 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: