Welcome to Part 2 of my three-part series on how to start a home bakery in Maryland.
Now that we’ve gone over what cottage food is, it’s time to go over how to package and label your cottage foods.
The public needs to know what they’re eating after all!
In this blog post, I will go over what you need to put on your labels in order to sell cottage foods for your home bakery in Maryland.
While the products you sell may be different, the labeling requirements will be the same.
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Why do I have to package and label my cottage foods for my home bakery in Maryland?
Because the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) said so!
The Guideline for Cottage Food Businesses clearly states that “[a]llowable foods produced under the cottage foods regulation must be prepackaged at the cottage food business and labeled.”
So, I can’t just have my chunky cookies out in a case and put them in a little baggie like a coffee shop would.
I prepackage almost all my baked goods in these cellophane cookie bags and use printable stickers for my labels. I place these labels on the back.
For the front, I add white round labels on top of these large pink round labels with my Cookie Cazimi logo, a QR code, and name of the cottage food item.
Recently, I started offering mini chunky cookies so these pink charcuterie boxes have been really helpful and cute to boot!
In regards to how to label your cottage foods in Maryland, you have to include the following:
- Business name
- Residential home address you’re baking out of
- Name of the cottage food product
- Ingredients (and sub-ingredients) in descending order of the amount of each ingredient by weight.
- Net weight, count, or net volume of the cottage food product. I personally use “Count 1” for my cookies because if you go by net weight or net volume, you will have to be exact.
- Allergen information as specified by federal labeling requirements. If any health or nutritional information claim is made, you will also need to include nutritional information as specified by federal labeling requirements
- The statement, “Made by a cottage food business that is not subject to Maryland’s food safety regulations” in a 10-point or larger font size in a color that provides a clear contrast to the background of the label
What are sub-ingredients?
What is butter? Is it just butter?
No, it’s made of pasteurized cream and salt, if you’re using salted butter.
On a label, you have to break everything down!
Flour is actually “Unbleached All Purpose Flour” and it is made up of “Organic Hard Red Wheat Flour, Organic Malted Barley Flour.” So, on your label, you would put:
Unbleached All Purpose Flour (Organic Hard Red Wheat Flour, Organic Malted Barley Flour)
And just keep going.
It’s a pain in the butt but that’s why I recommend keeping your menu small and niche down.
The last thing you want to do is set yourself up to burn out!
Do I have to put my home address on cottage food labels for my home bakery in Maryland?
If you don’t have a unique identification number, you have to put your home address on your cottage food labels.
How do you get a unique identification number? Just apply for one!
Go to the Cottage Food Business Request page and follow the instructions.
This process can take up to twelve (12) weeks. Although your experience may vary, I received mine in about a month.
What if I still have questions specific to my home bakery in Maryland?
If the FAQ page doesn’t answer any of your cottage food questions, email the MDH Food Plan Review at mdh.foodplanreview@maryland.gov for clarification.
I emailed them all the time when I first started my home bakery. Shout out to Ashley!
Concluding Part 2
Labeling your cottage food products can feel really intimidating because it gets into “official business” territory rather than the fun “I-want-to-start-a-home-bakery-in-Maryland” land.
And anything regarding the law can feel scary!
But, it’s not. While I am very Ron Swanson-like when it comes to the government, the government workers want you to succeed. So, don’t hesitate to reach out to your state’s health department reps.
While there are no requirements other than the food item you’re selling is a cottage food, there’s always more to it.
But don’t worry. I’m here to guide you along the way!
