Cottage food label requirements in Massachusetts
Permitted Retail Residential Kitchen (Cottage Food Operation), 105 CMR 590.000 (Retail Food Code), incl. 590.001(C) and 590.010(F); wholesale: 105 CMR 500.000. Regulated by Local boards of health (retail); Massachusetts Department of Public Health Food Protection Program (wholesale). Checked against state sources on .
The statement your label needs
No fixed statement found in Massachusetts’s rules
No type-size rule stated for the statement; keep it clearly legible.
What is different in Massachusetts
- Permits are local: each town's board of health sets fees and process
- Products must be prepackaged with an ingredient label
- Only household members may work in the operation
- Wholesale needs a separate state DPH license (105 CMR 500)
- Cannot be sold out of state
- Permit
- Depends on your county, town or tier. Retail residential kitchen permit issued and inspected by the local board of health; fees and requirements vary by town (e.g. Boston: $100/year, annual or random inspection). Private wells must be tested before permitting and at least annually. Wholesale requires a separate DPH License for Food Processing and/or Distribution at Wholesale.
- Sales cap
- No annual sales cap found in state sources
- Where you can sell
- Retail sales directly to the consumer only; local zoning may bar sales from the home (e.g. Boston). No brokers, wholesalers or warehouses.
- Online orders
- Not addressed clearly by state sources
- Ship in state
- Not addressed clearly by state sources
- Ship out of state
- No
- Sell to shops / cafés
- Limited
- Allowed foods
- Non-TCS baked goods, confectioneries, jams and jellies and similar foods; TCS ingredients allowed if the final product is non-TCS. Cream-filled pastries, cheesecake, custards, refrigerated foods, garlic-in-oil and acidified/hot-fill/vacuum-packed foods are prohibited.
What a Massachusetts cottage food label must show
- Name and address of the Cottage Food Operation
- Name of the Cottage Food Product
- Ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight (including sub-ingredients)
- Net weight or net volume
- Allergen information as specified by federal labeling requirements
- Nutrition labeling per federal rules if any nutrient content claim, health claim or other nutritional information is given
- Label printed in English
Federal rules still apply on top: ingredients in descending order by weight (21 CFR 101.4), the nine major allergens declared by name (FALCPA and the FASTER Act), and net quantity in ounces and grams (21 CFR 101.7). Massachusetts’s sources do not clearly address online orders — ask the agency before you set up a web shop. Shipping within the state is not clearly addressed, and products may not cross state lines.
Make a Massachusetts label now
The Massachusetts statement is already on it. Type your ingredients, tick the allergens and print on Avery sheets or a thermal roll. To have the ingredient order and allergens worked out from a costed recipe, use the workbench.
Still missing: business name and address.
Print at 100% scale with no margins. Check the result against Massachusetts’s rules above before selling.
True size. Massachusetts sets no fixed statement in our sources.
Massachusetts cottage food questions
What statement has to be on a Massachusetts cottage food label?
Our Massachusetts sources set no fixed home-kitchen statement. You still need the federal basics: product name, ingredients by weight, allergens, net quantity, and your name and address.
Do I need a permit to sell baked goods from home in Massachusetts?
Depends on your county, town or tier. Retail residential kitchen permit issued and inspected by the local board of health; fees and requirements vary by town (e.g. Boston: $100/year, annual or random inspection). Private wells must be tested before permitting and at least annually. Wholesale requires a separate DPH License for Food Processing and/or Distribution at Wholesale.
Is there a sales limit for cottage food in Massachusetts?
No annual cap appears in the state sources we checked. No sales cap in DPH residential kitchen standards.
Can I sell cottage food online or ship it in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts’s sources do not clearly address online orders — ask the agency before you set up a web shop. Shipping within the state is not clearly addressed, and products may not cross state lines.
Sources
- MA DPH: Retail Food Code Standards for Permitted Residential Kitchens (Apr 2019) (agency)
- MA DPH: Residential Kitchens Question and Answers brochure (agency)
- City of Boston ISD: Retail residential kitchens (agency)
Checked October 17, 2026. This is a checklist built from the sources above, not legal advice. Rules change; your county or the agency has the final word. Spotted something out of date? The about page explains how we check.
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