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Pennsylvania Cottage Food Label Requirements

Pennsylvania cottage food label requirements are set by the PA Department of Agriculture (PDA) for home kitchens registered as a Limited Food Establishment. Your label shows the product name, the ingredients by weight with sub-ingredients, any allergens, your business name and address, and the net weight or count. Unlike most states, Pennsylvania asks for no home-kitchen statement, and baked goods you sell yourself can skip the label entirely.

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Pennsylvania cottage food label requirements: map of the United States with Pennsylvania highlighted
Home food label

Required on every Pennsylvania home food label

PDA checks your labels before it approves your registration: you send them in with the application packet.

Example Pennsylvania label for apple cinnamon jam with the product name, ingredients, a Contains line, business name and address, and the net weight in the bottom third of the panel
  1. 1
    Product namePDA Limited Food Establishment packet
    The common or usual name of the food, like "Apple Cinnamon Jam" or "Peanut Butter Fudge".
  2. 2
    Ingredients, sub-ingredients includedPDA Limited Food Establishment packet
    From most to least by weight. Ready-made ingredients list what is in them, like "chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, soy lecithin)".
  3. 3
    Allergen declarationPDA Limited Food Establishment packet
    Whenever the food contains a major allergen, in the ingredient list or a "Contains: milk, wheat, peanuts" line.
  4. 4
    Name and addressPDA Limited Food Establishment packet
    Of the manufacturer or distributor. For most home businesses that is your business name and the address of your kitchen.
  5. 5
    Net weight or countPDA Limited Food Establishment packet
    Like "Net Wt. 9 oz (255 g)" or "12 cookies". PDA wants it in the bottom third of the main panel, in type of at least 8 points.
  6. No home-kitchen statementPA differenceMany states make you print a line like "made in a home kitchen". Pennsylvania does not. PDA registers and inspects your kitchen, and your label looks like any other food label.
Pennsylvania at a glance

Registration, inspection, limits and Nutrition Facts

Registration$35 a yearLimited Food Establishment registration with PDA, renewed every year.
Kitchen inspectionRequiredAn opening inspection before your first sale, then routine inspections.
Sales limitNone listedPDA's registration page and packet put no cap on sales. Philadelphia County is excluded from this registration.
Nutrition FactsInterstate onlyPDA asks for nutrition labeling on food sold across state lines, unless it qualifies for FDA's small business exemption.
Selling bread and cookies yourself?Bakery exemptionBakery items you make and sell directly to a Pennsylvania consumer, yourself or through an employee, at your kitchen or a satellite like a farmers market, need no label on the product. Have the ingredients ready for anyone who asks. Baked goods you buy in and resell need the full label.PDA Limited Food Establishment packet
Baked goods in a store you don't ownPackaged items carry the full label. Loose items in a bulk display need the label information posted by the display. In a restaurant, the information must be available on request. Ask PDA before supplying a store: its online FAQ says wholesale needs a different license.
Claims on the labelCheck itWords like "gluten free", "dairy free", "sugar free" or "organic" have to be backed by your ingredient suppliers' labels or by a product test. A claim can also bring in a Nutrition Facts panel.FDA Gluten-Free Label Requirements →
Selling online to other states?Interstate sales put you under the FDA too. Build the ingredient list, allergen line and, when you need it, the Nutrition Facts panel from your recipe in one go.Do I Need a Nutrition Label? →
Sources

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Questions

Pennsylvania label questions

No. Pennsylvania has no required "home kitchen" statement. You print the five standard items: product name, ingredients, allergens, name and address, and net weight or count.

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