# Home kitchen label rules in Ontario

> Informational only, not legal or food-safety advice. Verify with your local public health unit 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.

## Enforcement

Set centrally, enforced locally, so your own office's answer is the one that counts.
Find yours: https://www.ontario.ca/page/public-health-unit-locations

## Detail

Ontario is the opposite of a cottage food state and printing a not-inspected line here would be actively WRONG. The Ministry of Health's 'A Guide to Starting a Home-based Food Business' (November 2021) says plainly: "All food premises, including home-based food businesses, are subject to the requirements of the Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA), the Food Premises Regulation and periodic inspection by inspectors from their local public health unit." So the kitchen IS inspected. The January 1, 2020 changes to O. Reg. 493/17 only exempt low-risk home-based businesses from three things: specified handwashing stations, commercial dishwashing requirements, and food handler training certification. Step 2 of the guide requires the operator to contact their local public health unit to register as a new food operator before starting. Ottawa Public Health, for example, publishes home-based food business inspection results publicly within one day. Labelling therefore falls to federal CFIA and Health Canada rules (common name, ingredients and allergens, net quantity, dealer name and address, date markings), not to a provincial disclaimer.

## Sources

- Authority: your local public health unit (one of Ontario's 34), and its public health inspectors; the Ministry of Health writes the Food Premises Regulation
- Rule: https://www.ontario.ca/files/2024-03/moh-guide-to-starting-home-based-food-business-en-2021-11-01.pdf
- Authority page: https://www.ontario.ca/files/2024-03/moh-guide-to-starting-home-based-food-business-en-2021-11-01.pdf