Guide
Food labeling for US baked goods sold online
A cookie tin shipped from a US kitchen is packaged food. The product page is not the label. The tin, sleeve or inner bag that arrives still needs identity, net weight, ingredients, FALCPA names, an address, and usually Nutrition Facts unless a cottage-food or small-business exemption actually fits.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The short answer
A cookie tin shipped from a US kitchen is packaged food. The product page is not the label. The tin, sleeve or inner bag that arrives still needs identity, net weight, ingredients, FALCPA names, an address, and usually Nutrition Facts unless a cottage-food or small-business exemption actually fits.
Where this shows up in a real kitchen
Etsy bakers and Shopify cake shops photograph the frosting and paste allergens only in the listing. A parent unpacks the tin two states away without the product page. Distance selling does not create a new FDA exemption. State cottage-food shipping bans are a second problem on top of labeling.
The US rule
If it is packaged food in interstate commerce, FDA labeling applies. FALCPA names on the pack. Nutrition Facts unless exempt. Cottage-food statutes may add a homemade disclaimer and may forbid shipping across state lines. Platform policies are extra, not a substitute.
How to apply it
Put a label on the pack that travels. Match the listing to the pack so they cannot disagree. If you cannot ship cottage food out of state, do not. Recalculate when the holiday tin adds peppermint (possible oil only) vs crushed candy canes vs a peanut-butter cup.
- Confirm you may legally ship this food from this kitchen.
- Label the pack that the customer opens, not only the website.
- Declare majors for this SKU.
- Keep the listing, packing slip and tin in agreement.
Worked example
A 12 oz mailed tin of chocolate-chip cookies: identity, 12 oz, ingredients with wheat, butter (milk), eggs, chips (soy). Contains: wheat, milk, egg, soy. Texas cottage baker adds the state disclaimer. A peanut-butter-blossom SKU in the same shop gets peanut on its own tin, not a site-wide “may contain nuts” footer.
Checks that belong on this pack
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The tin has FALCPA names | An Etsy description is not 101.4. |
| Interstate shipping is allowed for this producer | Cottage-food shipping bans are real. |
| Holiday SKUs are not copy-pasted | Peppermint bark is not the same as peanut blossom. |
| Address on the pack is a real place of business | An Instagram handle is not 101.5. |
Allergens only in a packing-slip PDF
The slip can get thrown away in the mailer. The cookie still has wheat. Put the names on the food pack.
What LabelClear can and cannot print
Draft ingredients and allergen names for the tin. Then add US net weight and any cottage disclaimer. The generator does not print Nutrition Facts or check whether your state lets you ship.
Questions
If I sell only in my state, is FDA gone?
Does a custom birthday cake shipped in a box need Nutrition Facts?
Can I use a UK PPDS label on a US mailer?
Official sources
Everything on this page traces back to these. Where they and we disagree, they are right — tell us and we'll fix it.
- Food Labeling GuideU.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA)U.S. Food and Drug Administration
- Nutrition labeling requirementsU.S. Food and Drug Administration
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