California Cottage Food Label Requirements

Updated November 2026 · California

California’s Homemade Food Act lets you make and sell certain low-risk foods from a home kitchen as a Cottage Food Operation (CFO). The label has to carry seven specific items, and a Nutrition Facts panel is usually not required — until you make a claim. This checklist follows the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) labeling requirements (rev. 1/2025). It is general information, not legal advice; confirm details with your county environmental health department.

The seven things every label must carry

1. Common or descriptive name of the product, on the principal display panel (the front).
2. Name, city and ZIP code of the operation. If the CFO is not listed in a current telephone directory, a street address is also required. A phone number or email is optional but helpful.
3. “Made in a Home Kitchen” or “Repackaged in a Home Kitchen” in 12-point type on the principal display panel. If repackaged, also describe any purchased ready-to-eat products not used as an ingredient.
4. Registration or permit number and the name of the issuing county.
5. Ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight, if the product has two or more ingredients.
6. Net quantity (count, weight or volume) in both US customary and metric units.
7. Allergen declaration in plain language for the major allergens — milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soybeans, and sesame (added federally in 2023). Use a “Contains:” statement next to the ingredient list, or name the allergen within the list.

Labels must be legible and in English (an accurate translation may be added), and any packaging that touches the food must be food-grade.

Nutrition Facts: usually not required — until you make a claim

CDPH states that a Nutrition Facts panel is generally not required for cottage food operations. It becomes required if the label makes any nutrient content or health claim. The eleven regulated nutrient-content terms are: free, low, reduced, fewer, high, less, more, lean, extra lean, good source, and light. So “low sugar” or “good source of fiber” on a cookie bag triggers a full federal panel.

Class A vs Class B (and the 2026 sales caps)

California splits CFOs into two classes. The sales caps are adjusted annually for inflation (California CPI); the figures below are effective January 1, 2026, per CDPH’s adjusted sales-limit notice (base amounts $75,000 / $150,000 since 2022; Health & Safety Code § 113758).

Both classes are limited to one full-time-equivalent employee, not counting family or household members. Note the commercial reality: a Class B shop or café that resells your product may ask for a Nutrition Facts panel even though the state does not require one — see do cottage foods need a nutrition label?

A worked example

No Nutrition Facts panel here — because no nutrition claim is made. Add “low sugar” and the panel becomes mandatory.

Before you print

• Confirm your product is on California’s approved cottage-food list (low-risk, non-potentially-hazardous foods).
• Check whether your county adds any local labeling or signage requirements.
• If you sell indirect (Class B), ask each buyer what their vendor pack requires.
• If you make any claim, build a current-format federal panel.

Related guides

• Do cottage foods need a nutrition label?
• Nutrition labels for home bakeries
• Nutrition labels for jam, jelly & preserves
• FDA nutrition label rounding rules