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Ohio Cottage Food Label Requirements

Ohio cottage food label requirements are close to a full federal food label: the product name, the net weight in both ounces and grams, the ingredients by weight, your business name and address, any major allergens, and the statement "This product is home produced." in 10-point type. No license or inspection, but you can only sell inside Ohio.

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

Required on every Ohio cottage food label

Ohio's cottage food rules point to state law and to the federal food labeling rules in 21 CFR Part 101.

Example Ohio cottage food label for buckeye candy with ingredients, net weight in ounces and grams, business name and address, Contains line and the This product is home produced statement
  1. 1
    Product nameORC 3715.023
    The common or usual name, like "Buckeye Candy" or "Apple Butter".
  2. 2
    Net weight in two unitsORC 3715.023
    Use "NET WT" with both U.S. units and metric, like "NET WT 8 OZ (227 g)".
  3. 3
    Ingredients by weightORC 3715.023
    Heaviest first. Ingredients made of other ingredients list those in parentheses, like chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter).
  4. 4
    Business name and addressORC 3715.023
    Business name, street address, city, state and ZIP, kept together. A phone number or website is optional and can't replace the address.
  5. 5
    Allergens
    Name each major allergen in the ingredients or in a "Contains" line right after them. Say which tree nut, fish or shellfish, like "almonds".
  6. 6
    The home produced statementORC 3715.023
    In 10-point type: "This product is home produced."
  7. Making a claim? Add Nutrition FactsWatch outPrint "low fat," "sugar free" or a health claim on your label and the Ohio Department of Agriculture expects a full Nutrition Facts panel.
Ohio at a glance

Licensing, where to sell and your kitchen

LicenseNot neededCottage food operations are exempt from ODA licensing and inspection. ODA can still sample your products.
Where you can sellOhio onlyFrom your home, licensed grocery stores and restaurants, registered farm markets, farmers markets, and festivals run by a local government for up to seven days.
Your kitchenOne stoveYour primary residence, with one ordinary home stove or oven (a double oven counts as one).
Allowed foods20 typesOnly foods on the state list, like shelf-stable bakery items, jams, candy, granola, roasted coffee and dry spice blends.Ohio Adm. Code 901:3-20-04
Ohio honey label requirementsNot a cottage foodBeekeepers who jar honey that is at least 75% from their own hives are exempt from licensing. The label needs the name ("Clover Honey" is fine), net weight, and business name and address. No ingredient list. Sold at your own site, ounces alone are enough. Sold anywhere else, show ounces and grams. Flavored honey is a cottage food and needs the home produced statement.Custom Honey Label →
Ohio maple syrup label requirementsOwn exemptionMaple (tree) syrup and sorghum processors, and apple syrup and apple butter processors, fall under the same state exemption as beekeepers, not the cottage food rules. Maple sugar from an exempt syrup producer is a cottage food, so it gets the full cottage food label.Maple Syrup Label Requirements →
Cheesecake or cream pies?Those need refrigeration, so they are not cottage foods. A licensed Ohio Home Bakery can make them, and refrigerated items need "Keep Refrigerated" or a similar statement on the label.Baked Goods Label →
Sources

Where this comes from

Questions

Ohio label questions

Selling outside Ohio is prohibited, so no shipping to other states. ODA's list of places to sell names your home, licensed grocery stores and restaurants, registered farm markets, farmers markets and qualifying festivals. Online sales are not on that list, so ask ODA before you take orders online. Ohio Cottage Food Law →

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