How to label homemade honey for sale
Honey is a single-ingredient food, which makes the label short but easy to get wrong. Here is what a jar of honey needs before you sell it.
What your honey label needs
- ✓Product name. The common name of the food, so a buyer knows what it is.
- ✓Net quantity. Honey is labeled by net weight, for example 12 oz, not by fluid volume.
- ✓Ingredient list. Every ingredient, listed heaviest-first by weight.
- ✓Allergen statement. A “Contains” line for any of the nine major allergens in your recipe.
- ✓Business name and address. Who made the food and where they can be reached.
- ✓Home-kitchen disclaimer. The cottage food sentence your state requires you to print.
Allergens to watch in honey
Pure honey carries no major allergens. Still check every ingredient against the nine majors (milk, egg, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, sesame), because add-ins can introduce one. Your “Contains” line should reflect what is actually in your recipe.
Nutripane reads the allergens from your ingredients automatically, so the Contains line matches your recipe.
Do you need a Nutrition Facts panel for honey?
Pure honey is usually exempt from the Nutrition Facts panel as a cottage food, and its ingredient statement is simply Honey.
Nutripane builds the Nutrition Facts panel and the ingredient, allergen, and disclaimer label from your recipe, so you are ready whether you need the panel or not.
Can you sell honey as a cottage food?
Pure honey is widely allowed as a cottage food, but some states require an added note such as do not feed honey to infants under 12 months. Confirm your state's honey labeling rules.
One thing sellers miss on honey
If it is pure honey, the ingredient statement is just Honey. Do not call it raw, organic, or local unless it truly qualifies.
Questions
What do I need on a honey label to sell it?
The product name, net weight, your business name and address, and your state's home-kitchen disclaimer. Pure honey needs only Honey as its ingredient statement. Some states also require an infant warning, so confirm your state's rules.
Does honey need a nutrition label?
Usually not for a cottage food seller. Pure honey is typically exempt from the full Nutrition Facts panel, though a wholesale buyer or online marketplace may ask for one. Nutripane can build a panel from a single ingredient if you need it.
Where to sell your honey
Where you sell decides whether you need a full Nutrition Facts panel. Here is what each channel expects.
Guides to get you started
Labeling another food?
This page is general information, not legal advice. Food labeling and cottage food rules vary by state and county and change over time. Confirm current requirements with your state's cottage food program before you sell. See your state's rules or another product.