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Mississippi Cottage Food Label

Mississippi cottage food label rules ask for seven things: your operation's name and address, the product name, the ingredients from heaviest to lightest, the net weight or volume, the allergens, nutrition information only if you make a claim, and the line "Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Mississippi's food safety regulations." in at least ten-point type. Every product is prepackaged with that label before you sell it, face to face, inside Mississippi.

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Mississippi cottage food label: map of the United States with Mississippi highlighted
Cottage food label

Required on every Mississippi cottage food label

Section 75-29-951 of the Mississippi Code lists these items, and the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) repeats them in its cottage food questions and answers.

Example Mississippi label for a bag of cinnamon pecan granola with the operation's name and address, ingredients, net weight, a Contains: Pecans line and the cottage food operation statement
  1. 1
    Name and address of the operationMiss. Code § 75-29-951(3)(a)
    The name of your cottage food operation and its address. The law offers no ID number in its place, so your address goes on the label.
  2. 2
    Product nameMiss. Code § 75-29-951(3)(b)
    What the food is, like "Cinnamon Pecan Granola" or "Muscadine Jelly".
  3. 3
    Ingredients by weightMiss. Code § 75-29-951(3)(c)
    Every ingredient in descending order of predominance by weight, so the one you used most goes first.
  4. 4
    Net weight or net volumeMiss. Code § 75-29-951(3)(d)
    How much is in the package, like "NET WT 12 OZ (340 g)".
  5. 5
    Allergen informationMiss. Code § 75-29-951(3)(e)
    As federal rules require. Name tree nuts by type: "pecans" or "almonds", never just "nuts". MSDH says a list with plain "nuts" is not acceptable.
  6. 6
    Nutrition information, only with a claimMiss. Code § 75-29-951(3)(f)
    Say "low sugar" or "high fiber" on the package and you need the nutrition information federal rules ask for.
  7. 7
    The cottage food statementMiss. Code § 75-29-951(3)(g)
    In at least ten-point type, in a color that clearly contrasts with the label background: "Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Mississippi's food safety regulations."
  8. Allergens: two ways to show themMSDH tipPut the allergen in the ingredient name, like "whole wheat flour", or add a Contains line after the list, like "Contains wheat and milk". Watch for hidden ones: sodium caseinate comes from milk.
Mississippi at a glance

Sales cap, permits and where you can sell

Sales cap$35,000 a yearGross sales of cottage food at every location, whatever you sell and however many people help.Miss. Code § 75-29-951(1)
Food permitNoneUnder the cap you're exempt from the MSDH food establishment permit. Your city or county may still want a business license.
Where you can sellIn person, in MississippiPerson to person, with you there. Advertise online and on social media, but no online sales, mail order, wholesale or store sales.
TrainingEncouragedNot required by law. MSDH strongly encourages food safety training, especially for pickled and acidified foods.
Example: cinnamon pecan granolaReal ingredient lineCinnamon Pecan Granola / Your Operation Name, Street, City, MS ZIP / Ingredients: Rolled oats, honey, pecans, brown sugar, canola oil, cinnamon, vanilla extract (vanilla bean extractives in water, alcohol), salt / Contains: Pecans. / NET WT 12 OZ (340 g) / Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Mississippi's food safety regulations. Our tool sorted the ingredients by weight and named the tree nut for you.Make your label in the tool →
Pickles, relish and other acidified foodsAllowed, carefullyMississippi allows acidified foods that meet the federal definition in 21 CFR part 114, with a finished pH of 4.6 or below. MSDH strongly encourages training and lab analysis (Mississippi State University offers it), because a badly acidified jar can cause botulism.Pickle Label Design →
Selling honey at a farmers marketOwn ruleMississippi's farmers market guide says honey needs an MSDH food permit only if you lose possession of the product or produce more than 500 gallons a year. Honey with anything added lists those ingredients on the label.Honey Labeling Requirements (FDA) →
Ready for stores or online sales?Store shelves, mail order and web checkouts sit outside the cottage food law, so you'd need an MSDH food permit. The label grows too: net quantity in ounces and grams, allergens and usually a Nutrition Facts panel, which our tool builds from your recipe.Nutrition Facts Label Requirements →
Sources

Where this comes from

Questions

Mississippi label questions

Word for word: "Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Mississippi's food safety regulations." Print it in at least ten-point type, in a color that stands out from the label background. Mississippi Cottage Food Law →

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