Florida Cottage Food Labeling Requirements (2026)

Before HB 7061 passed in 2021, Florida's cottage food law was significantly more restrictive. The prior framework capped annual sales at $50,000, limited sales to farmers markets and roadside stands, and excluded online transactions. HB 7061 changed the landscape substantially — raising the annual sales cap to $250,000, allowing internet sales and home delivery, and expanding the list of permitted products.

Florida's cottage food exemption is found in Section 500.80 of the Florida Statutes. The exemption applies to "cottage food operations" — individuals producing cottage food products in a private home. The law does not require a license, permit, or inspection from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) for operations below the revenue threshold. Above $250,000 in annual gross sales, you must transition to a licensed food establishment, which involves inspections, commercial kitchen requirements, and full food manufacturing regulations.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services administers the cottage food program and publishes guidance documents that supplement the statutory language. FDACS has a dedicated cottage food page on its website that provides current information on permitted products, labeling requirements, and sales channel rules. Checking this resource periodically is good practice, as Florida's cottage food regulations have been subject to legislative revision and agency guidance updates.

Florida does not require cottage food producers to complete a food safety course, though FDACS recommends it as a best practice. The University of Florida IFAS Extension program offers food safety training resources specifically for cottage food producers that can help you operate a cleaner kitchen and reduce contamination risk.

Every Florida cottage food product must carry a label that includes the name of the product; the ingredients in descending order by weight; the net weight or volume; and the name and address of the cottage food operation — meaning your home address. These elements are consistent with the federal FDA labeling baseline that Florida adopts by reference.

The ingredient list must fully disclose all ingredients, including the sub-ingredients of any packaged product you use. If you make chocolate chip cookies using Nestle Toll House chocolate chips, the ingredients in those chips must appear in your ingredient list in the correct order relative to all your other ingredients. Simply listing the brand name of a packaged component is not sufficient. This requirement applies to every boxed mix, packaged chip, jarred extract, or commercial product that goes into your cottage food item.

Allergen labeling must identify all nine major allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame. Florida does not add state-specific allergens beyond the federal list, but the federal requirement applies fully to Florida cottage food products. The sesame allergen requirement took effect January 1, 2023, and any Florida cottage food producer still using labels that omit sesame from allergen declarations should update immediately.

Florida does not require a nutrition facts panel for cottage food products sold under the exemption. This is consistent with the federal small business and low-volume seller exemptions that apply to cottage food operations. Cottage food producers in Florida can skip the nutrition panel without violating state or federal law, which keeps label production costs manageable for home-based businesses.

Florida law requires a specific disclosure statement on every cottage food label. The required language states that the product was made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida's food safety regulations. Florida Statute 500.80 specifies the required statement, and FDACS guidance clarifies that it must appear on the label in a conspicuous manner — meaning it must be readable and visible on the packaging.

The standard required disclosure for Florida cottage food is: "Made in a cottage food operation that is not inspected by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services." This language puts customers on notice that your product comes from a home kitchen rather than a licensed food manufacturing facility. Unlike some other states, Florida does not specify a minimum font size for this statement in its statutory language, but FDACS guidance emphasizes that it must be "conspicuous" — which courts and regulators have generally interpreted to mean readable without magnification under normal viewing conditions.

Placement of the disclosure statement matters in practice, even if Florida law does not specify an exact location on the label. Many Florida cottage food producers place the statement on the front label panel or as a prominent secondary panel element. Hiding it on the bottom of a jar or in the smallest font your printer can produce is not in the spirit of the law and creates risk if your products are ever subject to a complaint review.

Quickly Cottage inserts the correct Florida disclosure statement automatically when you select Florida as your operating state. This ensures that every label you generate includes the exact statutory language in a format that integrates cleanly with your product name, ingredient list, and other label elements. You do not have to look up the required language or worry about using an outdated version of the disclosure statement.

Florida's cottage food law covers non-potentially-hazardous foods — products that are shelf-stable and do not require refrigeration for safety. The permitted product list includes baked goods like cookies, cakes, breads, muffins, brownies, and pies with non-refrigerated fillings. Candy and confections, including chocolate, fudge, brittles, pralines, and caramels, are permitted.

Jams, jellies, preserves, and fruit butters processed using safe home canning methods are included. Roasted nuts, granola, trail mix, popcorn, and dried herbs and spices are on the permitted list.

Florida's 2021 expansion also added several product categories that were previously excluded or unclear. Honey and honey-based products were clarified as permitted. Certain fermented products and dried goods were added. The expansion reflected recognition that Florida's prior permitted list was narrower than cottage food frameworks in comparable states, and that the excluded categories did not present meaningful food safety risks when properly prepared.

Excluded products are those that require refrigeration for food safety — fresh cream-filled pastries, cheesecakes, custard-filled items, fresh fruit pies, items containing meat, and any product that requires pressure canning. Alcoholic beverages are excluded. Products requiring temperature control for bacterial safety — time/temperature control for safety (TCS) foods — fall outside the exemption regardless of how they are prepared or packaged. When a customer requests a product that falls outside your permitted list, the correct answer is to decline the order or refer them to a licensed caterer or food manufacturer.

If you are uncertain whether a specific product is permitted, FDACS can provide guidance. Getting a written response to a specific product question creates documentation that protects you if your operation is later reviewed. Florida's cottage food community is also active online, with producer networks and Facebook groups where experienced sellers share current information about FDACS interpretations of the permitted product list.

Florida cottage food producers can sell at farmers markets, craft fairs, roadside stands, and community events. They can sell from their home directly to consumers.

They can accept orders online and deliver products or arrange pickup. The 2021 HB 7061 expansion specifically clarified that internet sales and home delivery are permitted, which opened significant new channels for Florida cottage food businesses.

What Florida cottage food producers cannot do is sell through retail stores, grocery chains, restaurants, or any third-party commercial intermediary. Your products must go directly from your home kitchen to the consumer who will eat them. Selling wholesale to a bakery or coffee shop that resells your products to its customers would take you outside the cottage food exemption and into the licensed food manufacturer framework, even if your annual revenue is below the $250,000 cap.

The most common mistakes Florida cottage food producers make on their labels include omitting the required disclosure statement entirely, listing a packaged mix by brand name only without disclosing sub-ingredients, failing to declare sesame as an allergen on products that contain it, and using a home address that differs from the production location. Labels that look professionally designed but lack the required disclosure statement are a particularly common issue — producers invest in beautiful branding and then forget the compliance element.

Other common errors include incorrect net weight declarations — using approximate language like "about 12 oz" instead of a specific stated weight — and omitting the allergen declaration entirely on products that are clearly made with wheat and eggs. Florida's revenue cap of $250,000 also creates compliance risk for producers who track sales loosely: if you exceed the cap without transitioning to a licensed facility, you are operating outside the exemption. Quickly Cottage helps Florida sellers avoid labeling mistakes by generating compliant labels that include all required elements from the start, so the focus stays on baking rather than compliance research.