Cottage Food Business Law

Did you know food packaging is a $110 billion per year industry? Food packaging is the third-largest industry in the United States. An estimated 350 billion packages exist on U.S. store shelves alone according to Food and Beverage magazine. Packaging should keep the food in good condition until it is sold and consumed, and to encourage customers to purchase the product. Correct packaging is essential to achieve both these objectives.

Food packaging has several primary objectives. The biggest purpose is the physical protection of the food. Packaging provides:

1. Physical protection
   The food enclosed in the package may require protection from, among other things, shock, vibration, compression, temperature, etc.
    
2. Barrier protection
   A barrier from oxygen, water vapor, dust, etc., is often required. Extending shelf life is a primary function.
    
3. Containment or agglomeration
   Small items are typically grouped together in one package to allow efficient handling. Liquids, powders, and granular materials need containment.
    
4. Convenience
   Packages can have features which add convenience in distribution, handling, stacking, display, sale, opening, reclosing, use, and reuse.
    
5. Portion control
   Single serving packaging has a precise amount of contents to control usage. It also aids the control of inventory; selling sealed one-liter-bottles of milk, rather than having people bring their own bottles to fill themselves.

Last but not least, packaging provides a space to post nutritional labels as well as marketing information such as name of product, brand and price.

Food labeling laws make sure consumers get vital information about the foods they consume.

It is very important to label your products correctly. All food products, whether sold as a cottage food, on-farm processed, or sold under a commercial license, must be properly labeled to sell legally.  

All cottage food products must contain a label that includes the following information. Commercially produced foods are not required to include the cottage food production reference.

• The name and address of the cottage food production operation.
   
• The name of the food product (e.g.,“Chocolate Chip Cookies”)
   
• The ingredients of the food product, in descending order of predominance by weight. This means your heaviest ingredient will be listed first and the least heavy ingredient listed last. Also, ingredients must be broken down completely if the ingredient itself contains two or more ingredients. For example, if unsalted butter is one of your ingredients, then you would list it as follows: Butter (Sweet Cream, Natural Flavor).
   
• The net quantity of contents in both the U.S. Customary System (inch/pound) and International System of Units (metric system). This must be placed within the bottom 30% of the label in a line parallel to the bottom of the package. An example of what this would look like in both the U.S. Customary System and International System is: Net Wt 8 oz (227 g)
   
• If this product was made under the Maryland Cottage Food law, the label must contain the following statement in ten-point type: "Made by a cottage food business that is not subject to Maryland's food safety regulations." (10-point type) This statement is required because it gives notice to the purchaser of the food product that the product was produced in a private home that is not required to be inspected by a food regulatory authority.
   
• Allergen Statement. There are 8 foods considered a major food allergen under the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act that must be declared on your label if they are contained in your food product. They include:

1. Milk
2. Egg
3. Fish
   For fish, the specific species must be declared. (e.g., Bass)
4. Crustacean Shellfish
   For shellfish, the specific species must be declared. (e.g., crab)
5. Tree Nuts
   For tree nuts, the specific type of nut must be declared. (e.g., Almond)
6. Wheat
7. Peanuts
8. Soybeans

If any of these major allergens are contained in your food product, then you may declare them in either of two different ways.

First, you can list the allergens in a “Contains” statement. The “Contains” statement would follow the ingredients list and look like this: “Contains: Wheat, Egg.”

The second way to declare an allergen is in your ingredients list. An example would be: “Enriched flour (wheat flour, malted barley, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin monotrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Egg.” In this example, wheat and egg are specifically stated within the ingredients so you would not need to put an additional “Contains” statement.

Below is a sample label for a cottage food product taken from The Forrager website at https://forrager.com/law/maryland/#labeling

Nutritional information is not required for cottage foods or on-farm processed foods unless a nutrient content claim or health claim is made. An example of a nutrient content claim would be “low fat.” An example of a health claim would be “may reduce heart disease.” If either or both of these claims are made, then you are required to include a Nutrition Facts panel on your food product. More information on the Nutrition Facts Panel can be found on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s website.