How to Label Food to Sell Across State Lines
Cottage food laws stop at your state line. The first time you ship a box to the next state over, a different and stricter rulebook applies. Here is what changes, and how to be ready for it.
Do you need a Nutrition Facts panel across state lines?
Panel usually requiredCottage food laws are state frameworks, so they stop at the state line. Selling or shipping food into another state generally puts you under full federal labeling, including a Nutrition Facts panel, a complete ingredient and allergen statement, net weight, and business information.
Nutripane builds the Nutrition Facts panel and the ingredient, allergen, and disclaimer label from your recipe, so you are ready whether this channel needs the panel or not.
What your label needs to sell across state lines
- ✓Product name. The common name of the food, so a buyer knows what it is.
- ✓Net quantity. The weight or count in the package, usually shown on the front.
- ✓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, for direct sales.
What is different when you sell across state lines
- ✓ A Nutrition Facts panel in the current federal format
- ✓ A complete ingredient and allergen statement
- ✓ Net weight in US and metric units
One thing sellers miss selling across state lines
One out-of-state order can change your obligations. If you ever ship across a state line, build the federal panel first so every package already meets the higher bar.
Popular foods to sell across state lines
Questions
Can I sell homemade food across state lines?
Usually not under a cottage food law, which is limited to your own state. Shipping food to another state generally requires full federal labeling, including a Nutrition Facts panel, and may require a licensed commercial kitchen. Confirm both states' rules and the federal requirements before you ship.
Does shipping food to another state need a nutrition label?
Generally yes. Interstate sales fall outside state cottage food exemptions, so plan on a Nutrition Facts panel plus the ingredient list, allergen statement, net weight, and business information. Nutripane builds the panel and label from your recipe.
Read next
Selling somewhere else?
This page is general information, not legal advice. Food labeling, cottage food rules, and marketplace policies vary by state and change over time. Confirm current requirements with your state's cottage food program and the place you plan to sell. See your state's rules or another channel.