Pennsylvania Cottage Food Labeling Requirements (2026)

Act 150 of 2016 established Pennsylvania's cottage food framework by creating a home food processing exemption within the Pennsylvania Food Safety Act. The law allows individuals to produce and sell a defined list of non-potentially-hazardous foods from their home kitchen without a food manufacturing license from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. The exemption is designed for small-scale, direct-to-consumer food businesses that operate below a specific revenue threshold.

Pennsylvania's cottage food program does not require producers to register with the state before selling, which distinguishes it from New York's registration requirement. However, the exemption does require full compliance with the label requirements and permitted product categories defined in the law and implementing regulations. Operating without a license is only legal when you are fully within the scope of the exemption — selling outside the permitted channels or exceeding the revenue cap without a license is a violation of Pennsylvania food law.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture administers the cottage food program and publishes guidance through its Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services. The Department has produced fact sheets and guidance documents that supplement the statutory language and provide practical information for cottage food producers. Checking the Department of Agriculture website periodically for updated guidance is good practice, as Pennsylvania has amended its cottage food framework since the original Act 150 passage.

Pennsylvania cottage food law has been the subject of ongoing advocacy from producers who want to raise the revenue cap, expand the permitted product list, and clarify the sales channel rules. Staying connected to the Pennsylvania cottage food community through local extension offices and producer networks can help you stay informed about legislative changes that might affect your operation.

Every Pennsylvania cottage food product must carry a label that includes the product name, the complete ingredient list in descending order by weight, the net weight or net volume, and the name and address of the home food producer. These elements are consistent with the federal FDA labeling baseline that Pennsylvania adopts by reference in its cottage food framework.

The ingredient list must fully disclose all ingredients used in the product, including the sub-ingredients of any commercially packaged product used in production. If you make snickerdoodles using a packaged cream of tartar brand, that product's ingredient list must be incorporated into your label in the correct order. If you use a Ghirardelli chocolate product, the sub-ingredients in that product must appear in your ingredient declaration. Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture inspectors are trained to identify labels that use shorthand brand references instead of full ingredient disclosure.

Allergen labeling must comply with federal requirements and identify all nine major allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame. Pennsylvania does not add state-specific allergen requirements beyond the federal list, but complete compliance with federal allergen labeling is required for cottage food products sold under the Pennsylvania exemption. The 2023 sesame addition must be reflected on labels for products containing sesame.

Pennsylvania does not require a nutrition facts panel on cottage food products sold under the Act 150 exemption. This keeps the label requirements manageable for home producers who lack access to nutrition analysis tools. The focus is on the ingredient list, allergen declaration, and the required Pennsylvania-specific disclosure statement.

Pennsylvania law requires a specific disclosure statement on every cottage food label sold under the Act 150 exemption. The required language must make clear that the product was made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. This disclosure is the state's mechanism for informing consumers that they are purchasing a product from a home-based operation rather than a licensed food manufacturing facility.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's guidance specifies that the disclosure statement must be "conspicuous" on the label — it must be legible and visible to a consumer reading the label under normal conditions. The statement cannot be printed in a font that is effectively invisible at normal reading distance, and it cannot be placed on a part of the package that a consumer would not typically see when examining the product before purchase.

Many Pennsylvania cottage food producers print the disclosure statement as a dedicated line on their primary label panel, below the ingredient list or near the bottom of the label. Others use a separate label band or sticker that wraps around the package. Either approach works as long as the statement is legible and visible. What does not work is placing the statement in a font significantly smaller than the rest of the label or printing it in a color that renders it illegible against the label background.

Quickly Cottage automatically includes the correct Pennsylvania cottage food disclosure statement when you select Pennsylvania as your state. The platform formats the statement to integrate cleanly with your product name, ingredient list, and other label elements, so your label looks professional while meeting all the compliance requirements.

Pennsylvania's cottage food exemption covers non-potentially-hazardous baked goods and similar products. Permitted items include breads, rolls, cakes, pastries, cookies, brownies, and other baked goods that do not contain potentially hazardous fillings or toppings.

Dry baking mixes, candy and confections, chocolate and chocolate-covered treats, dried herbs, and jams and jellies made with high-sugar recipes are also permitted under the exemption. Roasted nuts and nut butters, dried pasta, and similar shelf-stable products fall within the permitted list.

Excluded products are those that require refrigeration for food safety, including items with fresh cream, custard, fresh dairy, or meat fillings. Low-acid canned vegetables, fresh fruit products that require refrigeration, and alcoholic beverages are not permitted under the cottage food exemption. The excluded categories reflect the food safety principle that products with high moisture content and protein levels that support bacterial growth require licensed kitchen environments and regulatory oversight.

The annual gross sales limit under Pennsylvania's cottage food exemption is $18,000. This is among the lowest caps of any state with a cottage food program, and it represents a significant constraint on how large a Pennsylvania cottage food business can grow within the exemption framework. Producers who approach the $18,000 threshold need to plan their year carefully — stopping new orders as the limit approaches or beginning the process of licensing as a food manufacturer.

Transitioning beyond the $18,000 cap in Pennsylvania requires obtaining a food manufacturing or retail food facility license from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. Some Pennsylvania counties have shared commercial kitchen facilities that can be rented by the hour, which provides an accessible pathway to licensed production without the capital cost of building or converting a dedicated commercial kitchen. The Penn State Extension program offers resources for small food business owners navigating this transition.

Pennsylvania's cottage food exemption restricts sales to direct-to-consumer transactions. Permitted sales channels include selling from your home directly to customers who come to your address, selling at farmers markets, selling at roadside stands, and selling at community events. You must personally complete the transaction — selling through a retail store, restaurant, or other third-party intermediary is not permitted under the Act 150 exemption.

Farmers markets are one of the most productive selling channels for Pennsylvania cottage food producers. Pennsylvania has a robust farmers market culture with markets in every region of the state, including highly trafficked urban markets in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and other cities. Selling at a farmers market in Pennsylvania requires compliance with both state cottage food law and the specific rules of the market organization. Many Pennsylvania farmers markets require vendors to have their product labels reviewed before they are approved to sell.

Philadelphia-area farmers markets can be particularly competitive and may have additional requirements beyond what state law mandates. Market operators in urban Pennsylvania markets sometimes require liability insurance, a complete product list with labels, and proof that your products fall within the state's permitted categories. Building a relationship with market managers and attending vendor information sessions before applying can help you understand what is expected.

Online sales in Pennsylvania are a gray area that has not been fully resolved through legislative or regulatory guidance. The general interpretation of the direct-to-consumer requirement suggests that online orders fulfilled through personal delivery or home pickup are permissible, but Pennsylvania producers should seek current guidance from the Department of Agriculture on this specific point before building an online ordering system. Quickly Cottage is designed to support your direct-to-consumer sales however you fulfill them, with professional labels that build customer confidence in your products.