Kansas requires four specific pieces of information on every packaged cottage food product. No pre-approval, no state review — just get it right before your first sale. Here's exactly what goes on your label and how to do it.
Kansas KDA Requirement — KSA § 65-689(d)(4)
The Kansas Department of Agriculture requires all packaged cottage food products to carry these four elements — drawn from KDA's Guide for Direct Food Sales (MF3138). There is no state label review, no approval process, and no template you must follow. You design the label; you are responsible for ensuring all required information is present and accurate.
Kansas label requirements for cottage food producers are based on guidance in KDA publication MF3138 — Guide for Direct Food Sales. Download it at bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/MF3138.pdf. No pre-approval of your label is required — the producer is responsible for compliance.
Visual Reference
Every numbered callout corresponds to a required or strongly recommended element. This label satisfies all four Kansas KDA requirements.
Common or usual name of the food. Must be recognizable — not just a brand name. Placed prominently at the top or front of label.
Full name and physical street address of the producer or seller. P.O. Box not sufficient — must be a physical Kansas address.
All ingredients in descending order by weight. Sub-ingredients of compound ingredients shown in parentheses after the compound name.
Net weight, volume, or count of the product. Dual declaration (U.S. + metric) required for packages over 1 lb or 1 pint.
Not required by Kansas state law, but strongly recommended — especially for the 9 major FDA allergens. "Contains: Wheat, Milk, Eggs" format is clear and industry-standard.
Not explicitly required by KDA, but a widely used best practice that signals transparency to buyers and is referenced in KDA guidance as an appropriate disclosure.
If you sell items in bulk — where customers fill their own containers — or sell products that are not pre-packaged, you don't need a label on every unit. However, you must clearly display all required information at the point of sale — on a sign, card, or board visible to the customer. All four required elements (product name, your name & address, ingredients, net quantity) must be visible before the customer completes the purchase.
Allergen Disclosure
Kansas does not explicitly require allergen labeling for cottage food products — but the FDA's Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA, as amended by FASTER Act 2021) technically applies to packaged foods sold to consumers. More practically: a customer with a severe allergy who buys your product without allergen disclosure and has a reaction creates serious liability. Including allergen disclosure costs nothing and protects everyone.
If any of the following nine allergens are present in your product — even in trace amounts from shared equipment — declare them clearly using the "Contains:" statement format.
Place your allergen declaration immediately after or below the ingredients list, in bold or contrasting text: "Contains: Wheat, Milk, Eggs." If your product is made in a kitchen that also processes other allergens, add: "May contain traces of [Allergen]." This "may contain" advisory is optional but builds trust with allergy-conscious customers.
Net Quantity Rules
The net quantity declaration tells consumers how much product they're receiving — exclusive of packaging. Kansas follows standard U.S. weights and measures rules. For packages sold by weight, use ounces for packages under 1 pound and the pound + ounce dual format for larger packages. Always include the metric equivalent.
Common Mistakes
Kansas KDA guidance requires a physical address — not a post office box — for the seller's location. This is a traceability requirement.
✅ Fix: Use your home street address, or a registered business address service that provides a real physical address.Kansas (following FDA standard) requires ingredients in descending order by weight — the ingredient you use the most goes first, not in ABC order.
✅ Fix: Weigh each ingredient before adding to the recipe and sort the list from heaviest to lightest. Flour and sugar typically come first in baked goods.If you use "chocolate chips" as an ingredient, their components (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla) must appear in parentheses — because each is a separate ingredient that could trigger allergen concerns.
✅ Fix: Read ingredient labels for all packaged items you use, and carry those components through to your own label in parentheses.Saying "one jar of jam" doesn't meet the net quantity requirement. Customers and regulators need a specific weight or volume measurement.
✅ Fix: Always state exact net weight (oz/g), volume (fl oz/mL), or count — plus metric equivalent for packages over 1 lb or 1 pint.While not legally mandated by Kansas state rules, omitting allergen declarations creates real liability and excludes customers with allergies who need this information to buy safely.
✅ Fix: Add "Contains: [Allergen List]" immediately after your ingredients list on every product. It takes 30 seconds and protects everyone."Grandma's Sunday Specials" alone is not sufficient. The common name — "Oatmeal Raisin Cookies" — must appear clearly so consumers know what they're buying.
✅ Fix: Include both your brand/product name and the common food name: "Grandma's Sunday Specials — Oatmeal Raisin Cookies."Enter your product details and generate a print-ready, Kansas-compliant label with all four required fields pre-formatted — free with your SellFood account.
Create Free Account to Use This Tool →Four fields. No approval. No waiting. Get your labels right today and you're ready to sell in Kansas.