Wisconsin Cottage Food Labeling Requirements: What Goes on Your Label

Two Products, Two Labeling Standards

Wisconsin treats home-baked goods and home-canned goods under separate regulatory frameworks, and the labeling requirements reflect that split. Both categories require specific disclosures, but canned goods carry additional obligations that baked goods don't.

Getting your labels wrong isn't just a paperwork issue. Omitting the mandatory private-home disclaimer invalidates your exempt status entirely, exposing your products to detention and seizure by state food inspectors.

Labels for Home-Baked Goods

Every package of home-baked goods sold under the Kivirist exemption needs these elements:

• Common product name — "Chocolate Chip Cookies," "Sourdough Bread," etc.
• Complete ingredient list in descending order by weight
• Major allergen disclosures — if your product contains milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, crustacean shellfish, soybeans, or sesame, you must declare it. For tree nuts, fish, and shellfish, name the specific species ("almond," "walnut," "shrimp")
• Verbatim private-home disclaimer: "This product was made in a private home not subject to state licensing or inspection."

The Kivirist court injunction doesn't legally require your name and address on baked goods labels, but DATCP strongly recommends it. Most farmers markets require it as a vendor condition regardless of what the law mandates.

Net quantity (weight or volume) is also recommended but not strictly required for baked goods. Including it builds consumer trust and aligns with federal labeling norms if you ever scale to commercial production.

Labels for Home-Canned Goods (Pickle Bill)

Canned goods under the Pickle Bill carry a heavier labeling burden:

• Producer's full legal name and physical address — required, not optional
• Date of canning — the exact date the product was processed and sealed
• Complete ingredient list in descending order by weight
• Major allergen disclosures using the same standards as baked goods
• Net quantity statement in both standard and metric units
• Verbatim private-home disclaimer: "This product was made in a private home not subject to state licensing or inspection."

On top of all that, you need a point-of-sale sign displayed visibly at your booth: "These canned goods are homemade and not subject to state inspection."

This sign requirement is unique to the Pickle Bill. Baked goods don't need it.

Allergen Labeling Done Right

Allergen disclosure is where home producers most commonly fall short. Under federal and state standards, you must declare the presence of nine major allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame.

Two acceptable formats:

1. "Contains" statement after the ingredient list — e.g., "Contains: wheat, milk, eggs"
2. Parenthetical declaration within the ingredient list — e.g., "flour (wheat), butter (milk)"

Either format works, but pick one and use it consistently across your product line. Cross-contamination statements ("may contain traces of...") are voluntary and don't replace the mandatory declaration for intentional ingredients.

For tree nuts specifically, you can't just write "tree nuts." You must name the species: almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, etc. Same rule for fish (cod, salmon) and shellfish (shrimp, crab, lobster).

Common Labeling Mistakes

Skipping the disclaimer. The verbatim private-home statement is non-negotiable. Paraphrasing it ("homemade product") or abbreviating it doesn't satisfy the requirement.

Missing the canning date. Pickle Bill products must show when they were canned — not a "best by" date, not a lot number, but the actual date of processing.

Incomplete allergen lists. Sesame was added as the ninth major allergen in 2023. Recipes using tahini, sesame oil, or sesame seeds need the disclosure even if your old labels didn't include it.

No point-of-sale sign for canned goods. Showing up at a farmers market with labeled jars but no booth sign means you're technically non-compliant from the moment you set up.

For label templates and a step-by-step compliance checklist, the Wisconsin Cottage Food & Home Food Business Guide includes printable label layouts for both baked and canned products.

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