Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) Chapter 446.866 specifies labeling requirements of food prepared by cottage food operations. Food packaging must be affixed with labeling that:

• Complies with the federal labeling requirements set forth in 21 U.S.C. 343(w), 9 C.F.R. Part 317 and 21 C.F.R. Part 101 (General label content outlined below), and
• Labeled with “MADE IN A COTTAGE FOOD OPERATION THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENT FOOD SAFETY INSPECTION” printed prominently on the food item label.

This document will assist you in developing labels that are compliant with the law.

For more information, you may download the following:

• Cottage Food Operation Registration Application and Questionnaire PDF 996KB
• Example Labels for Cottage Food Operations PDF 138KB

Label Submission and Review Process

• There is a $64 fee for review of labels, which includes the first hour. Additional hours of review time are $118 per hour.

How do I make sure my labels are correct for submission?

Providing correct labels the first time saves you time, money, and results in a faster approval. There are five major categories of information that must be on EVERY cottage food label in ENGLISH:

1. The Product’s Name/Statement of Identity
2. Net Quantity of Ingredients (by weight or volume in English System of Measure)
3. Ingredient Statement (ALL ingredients, and ingredients of ingredients, where necessary)
4. The FULL Name and Address of the Manufacturer (Street address, City, State and ZIP Code)
5. Allergen Statement (“Contains” statement) for the Big 8 food allergens:
   

   Tree nuts*	Wheat
   Peanuts	Eggs
   Soy	Shellfish
   Milk	Fish
   * includes coconuts, coconut oil, almond extract, etc.

Common mistakes:

This list is not all-inclusive, but covers some of the most common issues:

• The typeface is unreadable by either size or design:
  • For the critical information required by law, use easily readable, common typefaces versus elaborately designed typefaces. Some good typeface choices are: Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, and Cambria. “Script Style” typefaces are poor choices for labels.
  • Ensure that all fonts are at least 1/16th of an inch in height based on the lower case “o”. For many (but not all) fonts, this equates to an 8 point font or larger. However, for some typefaces 8 point is still not big enough to meet the 1/16 of an inch requirement.
  • Avoid using ALL CAPS for large bodies of text, like the ingredients listings. ALL CAPS are good for titles and distinct snippets of information, but reduce readability of bodies of text.
• Ensure that the allergen “Contains” statement directly follows the ingredient list.
  • If a product DOES NOT specifically contain an allergen, then DO NOT use the Contains statement. An OPTIONAL Facility allergens warning may be used if the facility or equipment used in the production of a food also produces a food that contains one of the “Big 8” allergens. It would look something like this: “This product is made in a facility that also processes: peanuts, tree nuts, and crustacean shellfish”
  • Sometimes allergens are hidden within the ingredients of ingredients, which is why it is so important to ensure nothing is left off the label. For more information, visit the website ABOUT FOOD ALLERGIES at http://www.foodallergy.org/allergens This website provides a good idea of where some of the unknown allergens are found.
• The listing of ingredients is not in order and/or does not list all of the “ingredients of ingredients” properly:
  • Ensure that all ingredients are listed in the ingredient list. For example, chocolate covered strawberries with peanut sprinkles should have peanuts listed as an ingredient. Listing all ingredients is CRITICAL because there are hidden allergens that may have not been detected without the full listing of ingredients within ingredients
  • Ensure that all ingredients are listed in descending order by weight or volume. If you have a product that has distinct components such as a cake with frosting, the cake ingredients and the frosting ingredients can be listed separately to avoid confusion.
  • In addition, include ingredients (in parentheses) of any ingredient which itself contains two or more ingredients. For example, if butter was an ingredient it may read the following: “butter (pasteurized cream derived from milk, salt)”.
  • The following common ingredients may require “ingredients of ingredient” lists. An example of what that might look like is included below.

Basic Baking Ingredients

ORANGE CREAM CUPCAKES

Ingredients: Cupcake [Flour (wheat flour, malted barley, niacin, iron, and folic acid), sugar, eggs, baking powder, butter (cream, salt), vanilla (vanilla bean extractives in water and alcohol (35%)), baking soda, salt, orange juice, orange zest]. Frosting [powdered sugar (sugar, cornstarch), butter (cream, salt), vanilla (vanilla bean extractives in water and alcohol (35%)), orange juice, and milk]. Rainbow Sprinkles [Icing Sugar, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Corn Starch, Glucose, Soya Lecithin, FD&C Artificial Colors (Red 40, Yellow 5, Red 3, Yellow 6, Blue 1), Gum Arabic, Confectioner’s Glaze].
Contains: wheat, milk, eggs, soy
SNHD BAKERY 330 S. Valley View Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89106
Net Contents: 1 Cupcake (OR) Net Wt: 12 oz (340 g)
MADE IN A COTTAGE FOOD OPERATION THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENT FOOD SAFETY INSPECTION

GRANDMA’S STRAWBERRY JAM

Ingredients: Strawberries, pure cane sugar, fruit pectin
SNHD BAKERY 330 S. Valley View Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89106
Net Contents: 1 Cupcake (OR) Net Wt: 12 oz (340 g)
MADE IN A COTTAGE FOOD OPERATION THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENT FOOD SAFETY INSPECTION

GRANDMA’S GRAND NUT MIX

Peanuts, whole cashews, pecan halves, sea salt, rice krispies (rice, sugar, salt, malt flavor, BHT added for freshness).
Contains: Peanuts, Tree nuts, Cashews, Pecans
SNHD BAKERY 330 S. Valley View Blvd. Las Vegas, NV 89106
Net Wt: 4 oz (113 g)
MADE IN A COTTAGE FOOD OPERATION THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENT FOOD SAFETY INSPECTION