Food Label Requirements for Home Sellers in Iowa

Required Label Elements

What Must Appear on Every Iowa Cottage Food Label

Iowa Code § 137F.20 specifies exactly what information must appear on the label of every cottage food product sold in Iowa. These fields are mandatory — missing any one of them makes your label non-compliant, even if everything else is correct.

Producer Name & Contact Information Required

The label must identify the person who prepared the food. Iowa requires your name and at least one of the following: your address, phone number, or email address. You do not need to list all three — any one contact method alongside your name satisfies this requirement. This is how customers (and regulators) know who made the product.

Example: "Made by Sarah Johnson · sarah@hawkeyebakes.com" — or — "Produced by: Tom Williams, 412 Maple Ave, Ames, IA 50010"

Common or Usual Name of the Food Product Required

The product name must clearly describe what the food is using its common or usual name — the name a typical consumer would recognize. Avoid proprietary or invented names that obscure what's actually in the product. If the food's nature isn't obvious from the brand name, you must include a descriptive name.

Example: "Apple Cinnamon Jam" ✓ · "Harvest Blend" alone ✗ (too vague) · "Sourdough Bread" ✓ · "Morning Magic" alone ✗

Ingredients in Descending Order by Weight Required

List every ingredient in your product, starting with the ingredient present in the greatest amount by weight and ending with the ingredient present in the least amount. Use common names for ingredients — "sugar" not "sucrose," "butter" not "dairy fat." Sub-ingredients in compound ingredients (e.g., chocolate chips) must also be listed parenthetically.

Example: "Ingredients: wheat flour, sugar, butter (cream, salt), eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder, salt"

Net Quantity / Net Weight Required

The net quantity tells customers how much food they're getting. For solid or semi-solid foods, use weight (ounces and pounds, or grams). For liquid products, use fluid volume (fluid ounces or milliliters). Count items (e.g., "12 cookies") is acceptable for individually portioned products where weight would be misleading. Net weight excludes packaging weight.

Examples: "Net Wt 8 oz (227g)" · "Net 16 fl oz" · "Contains 12 cookies · Net Wt 7.5 oz"

Iowa Cottage Food Disclaimer Statement Required

Every Iowa cottage food label must include the exact state-mandated disclaimer statement. This statement must appear verbatim — you cannot paraphrase or abbreviate it. See the full disclaimer callout below for the exact required wording. This is the single most important compliance element of your Iowa label.

Required statement: "This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state licensing and inspection."

Allergen Statement Required — If Allergens Present

If your product contains one or more of the 9 major food allergens, you must include an allergen statement that identifies each allergen by its common name. Iowa follows the federal list of major food allergens, which was updated in 2023 to include sesame as the ninth allergen. The allergen statement can be incorporated into the ingredient list or listed separately as a "Contains:" statement.

Example: "Contains: Wheat, Milk, Eggs, Tree Nuts (Almonds)" — or include in ingredient list: "wheat flour, butter (milk), almonds, eggs"

Processing Date (Pickled / Canned Products Only) Required — Pickled & Canned Only

For home-processed and home-canned pickles, vegetables, and fruits permitted under Iowa's cottage food acidified food provisions, the label must include the date the food was processed and canned. This requirement applies to any product sold under Iowa's pH/Aw testing rules — including pickled vegetables, acidified salsa, home-canned fruits, and fermented products qualifying under the threshold.

Example: "Processed and canned: October 14, 2026" — or — "Canning date: 10/14/26"

Quick Checklist
Iowa Cottage Food Label — 7 Fields
Every label needs all that apply from this list:
Producer name + address, phone, or email
Common/usual name of the food
Ingredients in descending weight order
Net quantity / net weight
Iowa cottage food disclaimer (exact wording)
Allergen statement (if allergens present)
Processing date (pickled/canned only)

⚠️ Mandatory Statement — Use Exact Wording

Iowa Cottage Food Disclaimer — Required Verbatim on Every Label

"This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state licensing and inspection."

This statement must appear verbatim on every Iowa cottage food label. You may not paraphrase, abbreviate, or alter this language. It must be legible and clearly associated with the product. There is no specification for font size, color, or placement — but it must be readable. Printing it clearly on the front or back panel of your label satisfies the requirement.

HFPE License Holders — Different Statement Required

"This product was produced at a home food processing establishment."

If you hold an Iowa HFPE license (Iowa Code § 137D), your label must use this alternative statement — not the cottage food disclaimer. Using the wrong statement is a labeling violation. HFPE labels also require all fields listed above plus net weight and ingredients, which are explicitly required under the HFPE program.

Allergen Labeling

Iowa's 9 Major Food Allergens

Iowa follows the federal list of major food allergens established by FALCPA (Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act) and updated by the FASTER Act (2023), which added sesame as the ninth major allergen. If your product contains any of these — including as sub-ingredients in compound ingredients — you must declare it on your label.

🥛

Milk

Including butter, cream, cheese, whey

🥚

Eggs

Whole eggs, yolks, whites, egg powder

🐟

Fish

Bass, flounder, cod — species must be named

🦐

Shellfish

Crab, lobster, shrimp — species must be named

🌳

Tree Nuts

Almonds, pecans, walnuts, cashews — name each

🌾

Wheat

Including wheat flour, bread flour, whole wheat

🥜

Peanuts

Including peanut butter, peanut oil

🫘

Soybeans

Including soy flour, soy lecithin, tofu

🌱

Sesame

Added 2023 — includes tahini, sesame oil, seeds

Iowa Allergen Labeling Rules

If your product contains any of the 9 allergens, you must declare each one by its common name
Allergens in sub-ingredients must also be declared — e.g., if chocolate chips contain soy lecithin, "soy" must appear on your label
You may declare allergens within the ingredient list (e.g., "butter (milk)") or in a separate "Contains:" statement after the list
If your product may be cross-contaminated with allergens from shared equipment, a "May contain:" advisory is strongly recommended as best practice, though not explicitly mandated by Iowa § 137F.20
Sesame became the 9th major allergen under federal law in January 2023 — labels printed before this date may need updating if sesame is present

Measurement & Quantity

Net Weight & Quantity Rules

Iowa requires net quantity on every label. Here's how to measure and express it correctly for common cottage food product types.

Solid & Semi-Solid Foods

Weigh the product without its packaging on a food-grade scale. Express in both imperial (oz/lb) and metric (g/kg) for professional presentation, though Iowa only requires one system. Weigh after packaging is complete but exclude packaging weight.

Example: "Net Wt 12 oz (340g)" for a loaf of bread

Jams, Jellies & Sauces

Liquid and semi-liquid products sold by weight: measure net contents by weight (not volume). Fill weight (not jar weight) counts. "Net Wt 8 oz" means 8 oz of jam — not including the jar. Alternatively, use fluid ounces for clearly liquid products.

Example: "Net Wt 8 oz (227g)" for a standard 8 oz jam jar

Counted Items

For cookies, candy, or individually portioned products, you may express net quantity by count plus total weight: "12 cookies · Net Wt 7.5 oz." This is more useful to consumers than weight alone and is compliant with Iowa's labeling requirements.

Example: "6 brownies · Net Wt 14 oz (397g)"

Label Comparison

Cottage Food vs. HFPE Label Requirements

Iowa has two different label requirement sets depending on which program you operate under. Here's a side-by-side comparison.

Label Field	Cottage Food (§ 137F.20)	HFPE (§ 137D)
Producer name + contact	✓ Required	✓ Required
Common / usual product name	✓ Required	✓ Required
Ingredients in descending order by weight	✓ Required	✓ Required
Net quantity / net weight	✓ Required	✓ Required
Allergen statement	If allergens present	If allergens present
Processing date	Pickled/canned products only	Not specified for HFPE
Cottage food disclaimer	✓ Required — exact wording	✗ Must use HFPE statement instead
HFPE disclaimer	✗ Not applicable	✓ Required — "produced at a home food processing establishment"
Nutrition facts panel	Not required (small seller exemption)	Not required (small seller exemption)
UPC / barcode	Not required	Required for retail shelf placement by most retailers

What a Compliant Label Looks Like

Iowa Farmhouse Honey Jam

Apple, Cinnamon & Wildflower Honey

Ingredients

Apples, cane sugar, wildflower honey, lemon juice, cinnamon, pectin

Allergens

No major allergens present

Produced by

Rachel Vance · rachel@iowafarmhousejams.com

This product was produced at a residential property that is exempt from state licensing and inspection.

Net Wt 8 oz (227g)

This example label includes all 5 required fields for a non-pickled cottage food product.

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Iowa Label Creator

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Label Requirements in Iowa

What Must Appear on Every Iowa Cottage Food Label

Iowa's 9 Major Food Allergens

Net Weight & Quantity Rules

Cottage Food vs. HFPE Label Requirements

Iowa Label Creator

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