Every product you sell must carry a compliant label — including the exact state-mandated disclaimer. Here's every required field, what it must say, and how to format it correctly.
Under N.J.A.C. 8:24-11.4, every cottage food product sold in New Jersey must carry a label or tag that collectively states all of the following. Missing even one element puts you out of compliance.
The common or usual name of the food product. This must clearly identify what the product is — not a brand name, a tagline, or a descriptor. Use the standard food name customers would recognize.
Chocolate Chip Cookies Apple Cinnamon Jam Roasted Coffee — Dark BlendList every ingredient from most to least by weight — the same format used on all commercial food labels. Compound ingredients (e.g., chocolate chips) must list their sub-ingredients in parentheses. No ingredient may be omitted.
Ingredients: Flour, sugar, butter (cream, salt), eggs, chocolate chips (sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, vanilla), vanilla extract, baking soda, saltIf your product contains any of the 9 major allergens, you must use the word "Contains" followed by the list. This is mandatory — not optional — whenever an allergen is present. See the full allergen section below for details.
Contains: Wheat, Milk, Eggs Contains: Peanuts, Tree Nuts (Almonds)Your full legal name, your business name (if you operate under a DBA or business name), and your NJ Cottage Food Operator Permit number as issued by the Department of Health. All three must appear if a business name is used.
Jane Smith · Sweet Jane's Bakery · CFO Permit #XXXXXXThe name of the municipality (town, city, or borough) where your kitchen is located — exactly as it appears on your permit registration with the DOH — followed by "New Jersey" or "NJ." This is your town name, not your street address. Your full home address does not appear on the label.
Trenton, NJ Princeton, New Jersey Jersey City, NJThe exact required legal disclaimer — word for word. This cannot be paraphrased, abbreviated, or reformatted. It must appear on the label or on an attached tag. See the highlighted box below for the precise required text.
"This food is prepared pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:24-11 in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Department of Health."This exact statement must appear on every cottage food product you sell. It cannot be paraphrased, shortened, or modified. Copy it exactly — including the regulatory citation.
"This food is prepared pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:24-11 in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Department of Health."
Source: N.J. Admin. Code § 8:24-11.4 — Cottage food point-of-sale notice, packaging, and labeling
This example shows all 6 required elements on a single product label. Use this as a reference when designing your own.
The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) and the FASTER Act of 2021 established 9 major allergens. New Jersey's cottage food rules require disclosure of all of them using the word "Contains" when present in your product.
Use the word "Contains" followed by a colon and a list of allergens present. This must appear separately from — or prominently within — the ingredient list.
Contains: Wheat, Milk, Eggs, Soy Contains: Peanuts, Tree Nuts (Cashews)If an allergen appears only as a sub-ingredient (e.g., milk in chocolate chips), it still must be declared. List it in both the "Contains" statement and parenthetically within the ingredient list.
...chocolate chips (sugar, cocoa butter, milk, soy lecithin)...Cross-contact statements ("May contain traces of peanuts") are voluntary under NJ rules but strongly recommended if your kitchen also handles products with other allergens. These statements cannot replace the required "Contains" declaration for allergens actually in the product.
May contain: Peanuts, Tree NutsIf your product contains none of the 9 major allergens, you do not need to include a "Contains" statement. Ingredient-only labeling is sufficient for allergen-free products.
For small items like truffles, cake pops, or individual cupcakes where attaching a full label to each piece isn't practical, New Jersey requires at least one tag per order or batch that contains all required label information. The full label doesn't need to be on each individual piece — one complete tag for the collection suffices.
If you sell a gift box containing multiple different products, each individual product inside should carry its own compliant label. The outer gift box packaging should also identify what's inside. Allergen declarations are especially important in mixed-item gifts where cross-contact between products is possible.
Custom cakes are subject to the same labeling rules. Even for a single commissioned wedding cake, a label or tag with all 6 required elements must accompany the product when it's delivered. The label doesn't need to be affixed directly to the cake — a tag tied to the box or an attached card works, as long as it's presented at the point of delivery.
New Jersey Home Bakers Association guidance confirms that allergen disclosure is required even for free samples and tastings — including wedding cake tastings. Labels or placards don't need to be elaborate, but they do need to be present and include at minimum ingredient and allergen information whenever food changes hands.
While your online listings don't have a legal format requirement under NJ cottage food rules, best practice is to display allergen information prominently in your product descriptions. Customers ordering online deserve the same safety information as those buying in person — and it reduces complaints and liability.
If you want to sell a product not listed on your original permit application, you must submit an updated product questionnaire to NJDOH and receive approval before selling. Each new product gets its own permit-number label once approved. You cannot simply start selling unlisted items under your existing permit number.
Create fully compliant New Jersey cottage food labels — the required disclaimer is pre-filled, your permit number is saved, and you can generate print-ready PDFs for every product in your lineup.
Open Label Creator (Free with Account) →Build compliant labels, list your products, and reach New Jersey customers who want to buy local home-made food — all in one place.
Create Your Free Seller Profile →Free to join · Label Creator included · New Jersey compliance tools built in