Cottage Food Labels in Florida: No License, Strict Wording

Florida is one of the easiest states to start a cottage food business in and one of the more particular about how the label looks. There is no license or permit from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and no state inspection. In exchange, the required statement has to appear exactly as written, at a stated minimum size, in capitals, in a contrasting colour.

The cap is $250,000 in gross annual sales, the highest of the large state programs.

The required statement

Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida's food safety regulations.

Three formatting requirements come with it, and all three are enforceable parts of the rule rather than style advice.

• At least 10-point type
• In capital letters
• In a colour that contrasts with the background

The contrast requirement is the one people miss. Pale grey text on a cream label is a common design choice and does not satisfy it. So does printing the statement over a photograph, where contrast varies across the text.

What else the label must carry

• The name of the product
• The name and address of the cottage food operation
• The ingredients, in descending order by weight
• A declaration of the major food allergens present
• Net weight or volume

No license does not mean no rules

The absence of a permit is the headline, and it leads some producers to assume the whole area is unregulated. It is not. The product still has to be on the permitted list, the label still has to carry everything above, and the federal rules on allergens and on nutrition claims apply exactly as they do anywhere else in the country.

If you pass $250,000 in gross annual sales you move out of the cottage food exemption entirely and into a permitted commercial food establishment, which is a different regulatory posture with inspections attached.

When you need a Nutrition Facts panel

Florida's cottage food law does not require one. The federal position decides it, and most cottage food operations are exempt under 21 CFR 101.9(j)(1): annual gross sales of $500,000 or less, or annual gross sales of food to consumers of $50,000 or less, with nothing to file.

You need a panel if:

• You make a nutrient content or health claim on the label, in labeling, or in advertising. The claim ends the exemption wherever it appears, including in a market stall sign or an online listing.
• You pass the federal thresholds. As in Texas, the federal $50,000 food-sales figure sits far below Florida's $250,000 cottage food cap, so a producer can be comfortably inside the state cap and outside the federal exemption.
• A retailer requires one to stock the product.

What to do in Nutrifax

1. Build or import the recipe and check each ingredient match.
2. Set the serving size from the reference amount for the category.
3. Generate the panel in the FDA 2016 format, rounded per 21 CFR 101.9.
4. Export a print-ready PDF or PNG, or tile an Avery 5163 sheet.
5. Generate an audit report if a buyer wants the derivation.

Nutrifax produces the Nutrition Facts panel. The Florida statement and the rest of the required elements go on the label alongside it.

Related pages

• Cottage Food Label Requirements by State
• When Nutrition Labels Are Required in the US
• US FDA Nutrition Label Requirements for Small Producers
• Serving Size and Rounding Rules (US FDA)
• FDA nutrition label generator

Sources

• Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services: Cottage foods
• Florida Statutes 500.80: Cottage food operations
• FDA: Small business nutrition labeling exemption guide
• eCFR: 21 CFR 101.9 (Nutrition labeling of food)

Disclaimer

Educational content only; not legal advice. Confirm current requirements with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and confirm the final label against current regulations for your product and jurisdiction.