How to label homemade dried herbs for sale
Dried herbs from the garden are about as simple a product as you can sell, and the label is short. Here is what a packet of dried herbs needs.
What your dried herbs label needs
- ✓Product name. The common name of the food, so a buyer knows what it is.
- ✓Net quantity. Dried herbs are sold by net weight, and because they are light the weights are small, for example 0.5 oz.
- ✓Ingredient list. Every ingredient, listed heaviest-first by weight.
- ✓Allergen statement. A “Contains” line for any of the nine major allergens in your recipe.
- ✓Business name and address. Who made the food and where they can be reached.
- ✓Home-kitchen disclaimer. The cottage food sentence your state requires you to print.
Allergens to watch in dried herbs
Single dried herbs carry no major allergens. Still check every ingredient against the nine majors (milk, egg, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, sesame), because add-ins can introduce one. Your “Contains” line should reflect what is actually in your recipe.
Nutripane reads the allergens from your ingredients automatically, so the Contains line matches your recipe.
Do you need a Nutrition Facts panel for dried herbs?
A single dried herb is usually exempt from the Nutrition Facts panel as a cottage food, and its ingredient statement is just the herb.
Nutripane builds the Nutrition Facts panel and the ingredient, allergen, and disclaimer label from your recipe, so you are ready whether you need the panel or not.
One thing sellers miss on dried herbs
Name the herb and whether it is whole, cut, or ground. Do not make health claims, and do not call it organic unless it truly qualifies.
Questions
How do I label dried herbs for sale?
Package them with the product name, net weight, the ingredient (the herb), your business name and address, and your state's home-kitchen disclaimer. Confirm your state treats dried herbs as a cottage food.
Can I sell dried herbs as a remedy?
No. Selling an herb with a health or medical claim can reclassify it as a drug and pull it out of cottage food rules. Sell it as a culinary herb and keep medical claims off the label.
Where to sell your dried herbs
Where you sell decides whether you need a full Nutrition Facts panel. Here is what each channel expects.
Guides to get you started
Labeling another food?
This page is general information, not legal advice. Food labeling and cottage food rules vary by state and county and change over time. Confirm current requirements with your state's cottage food program before you sell. See your state's rules or another product.