How to label homemade maple syrup for sale
Pure maple syrup is a beloved local product with its own grading rules. Here is what a bottle of maple syrup needs before you sell it.
What your maple syrup label needs
- ✓Product name. The common name of the food, so a buyer knows what it is.
- ✓Net quantity. Maple syrup is usually labeled by net volume in fluid ounces or by net weight, following your state's packaging rules.
- ✓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 maple syrup
Pure maple syrup 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 maple syrup?
Pure maple syrup is usually exempt from the Nutrition Facts panel as a cottage food, and its ingredient statement is simply Maple Syrup.
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 maple syrup as a cottage food?
Pure maple syrup is widely sold, but grading and Grade A labeling rules apply, and some states regulate maple producers separately. Confirm your state's maple rules.
One thing sellers miss on maple syrup
Only call it pure maple syrup if there is nothing else in it. Show the grade if your state requires it, and do not label a blend as pure.
Questions
What has to be on a maple syrup label?
The product name, the net volume or weight, the grade if your state requires it, your business name and address, and your state's home-kitchen disclaimer. Pure syrup needs only Maple Syrup as its ingredient statement.
Does maple syrup need a nutrition label?
Often not for a small cottage food producer, though grading and packaging rules still apply, and wholesale buyers may ask for a panel. Confirm your state's maple program requirements before you sell.
Where to sell your maple syrup
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.