Last verified 2026-09-12. Regulator: Ohio Department of Agriculture. This page is not legal advice.
What must a cottage food label show in Ohio?
A Ohio cottage food label must show these 6 items:
- The name and address of the business of the cottage food production operation
- The name of the food product
- The ingredients of the food product, in descending order of predominance by weight
- The net weight and volume of the food product
- The following statement in ten-point type: "This product is home produced."
- The federal food labeling rules in 21 CFR Part 101 (April 1, 2014) apply in addition to the five items above
What disclaimer must a Ohio cottage food label have?
Yes. A Ohio cottage food label must carry this statement, word for word:
This product is home produced.
Does Ohio require a Nutrition Facts panel on cottage food?
Only in some cases. Ohio requires a Nutrition Facts panel when the label makes a nutrient or health claim, such as "low sugar" or "high protein". If you want to add one, the Nutrition Label Maker prints it in the FDA layout for free.
What foods can you sell under the Ohio cottage food law?
Only the items listed in rule 901:3-20-04. Non-potentially hazardous bakery products, jams, jellies, candy (but not fresh fruit dipped or covered in candy), flavored honey from an exempt beekeeper, fruit chutneys, fruit butters, granola and granola bars, maple sugar from an exempt producer, popcorn and flavored popcorn and kettle corn and popcorn balls and caramel corn (but not popping corn), unfilled baked donuts, waffle cones, pizzelles, dry cereal and nut snack mixes with seasonings, roasted coffee, dry baking mixes in a jar, dry herbs and herb blends, dry soup mixes with commercially dried vegetables and beans and grains, dry seasoning blends, and dry tea blends. Anything not on that list is prohibited.
Where can you sell cottage food in Ohio?
Cottage food products may not be sold outside the state of Ohio. A retail food establishment or food service operation licensed under Chapter 3717 of the Revised Code may offer a properly labeled cottage food product for sale, so sales to those businesses are allowed.
Do you need a permit to sell cottage food in Ohio?
Chapter 901:3-20 sets no registration, licence, inspection, or training requirement. Its five rules cover definitions, labeling, sampling, allowed products, and prohibitions.
Is there a sales limit for cottage food in Ohio?
No sales cap appears in Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 901:3-20 or in Ohio Revised Code section 3715.023.
What else should you know about the Ohio rules?
Ohio limits you to a closed list of products. Rule 901:3-20-05 bans potentially hazardous foods, acidified and low acid canned foods, and any item not named in rule 901:3-20-04. You may not use reduced oxygen packaging, which includes vacuum packaging and modified atmosphere packaging. The director of agriculture may take samples of your product to test for adulteration or misbranding, and refusing a sample is a violation. Rule 901:3-20-02 also applies the federal labeling rules in 21 CFR Part 101, which cover allergen statements and nutrition claims.
How accurate is this page?
The five label items and the exact statement were read from Ohio Revised Code section 3715.023 on 2026-09-12. The allowed products, the prohibitions, the sampling rule, and the labeling rule were read from Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 901:3-20 the same day. The Ohio Department of Agriculture cottage food page is not confirmed. Every path tried on agri.ohio.gov returned a 404, so the link above points at the department home page. The revenue cap and the absence of registration are stated from the two sources read; other sections of Revised Code Chapter 3715 were not checked. The federal text of 21 CFR Part 101 was not read.