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Selling homemade food in Kentucky means your label has to follow the Kentucky home-based processor registration — KRS 217.136, definitions at KRS 217.015(56), rules at 902 KAR 45:090. Not a no-paperwork state: registration with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services on form DFS-250 is required, $50 a year, expiring every 31 March, and the kitchen may be inspected annually or on complaint. Gross income from the products is capped at $60,000 a year, and acid, acidified and low-acid canned foods belong to the separate home-based MICROprocessor track, which is reserved to farmers. Here is exactly what that label must show in 2026 — the required fields, the allergen rule, and the verbatim disclaimer and its font size — sourced to the statute and dated.
Print this statement on the label, word for word:
The statement must be set in ten (10) point type. Kentucky asks for two fields most other states do not, and KRS 217.136(4) makes a product misbranded if either is missing: the DATE the product was processed, and the net weight AND volume by standard measure (or a numerical count). The statute prints the sentence with no final period inside the quotation marks. Allergen information under 21 U.S.C. § 343(w) is added by 902 KAR 45:090 § 3(5)(b). On the microprocessor track — farmers only — every label must be sent to the cabinet for review BEFORE marketing.
Kentucky is unusual on TWO counts, both verified in KRS 217.136(3)(e): it prescribes an exact short statement — "This product is home-produced and processed" — AND it fixes a minimum type size of ten (10) point for that statement. Most states specify wording only; Kentucky also legislates the typography. Two easy-to-miss details: the statutory phrase carries NO period, and the 10-point type is mandatory, not advisory. Copying a generic "Made in a Home Kitchen / not subject to state inspection" disclaimer fails on both the wording and the size.
KRS 217.136(3)(e) requires the statement to appear IN TEN (10) POINT TYPE — an enforceable typographic spec most cottage-food templates ignore. The statute also quotes the phrase with no ending period, so reproduce exactly "This product is home-produced and processed" (six words, no period) at 10-point or larger.
Off-the-shelf templates say "Made in a Home Kitchen" or "not subject to state inspection." Kentucky's statutory phrase is specifically "This product is home-produced and processed." Use it verbatim — do not paraphrase or add inspection language.
Baked goods, jams/jellies, fruit pies, cookies, sorghum, whole/dried produce = home-based PROCESSOR (register with the cabinet; sell direct-to-consumer within Kentucky at the home, markets, roadside stands, community events, or ONLINE per KRS 217.136(5)). Acidified/canned or low-acid items (salsa, pickles, BBQ sauce, low-sugar preserves) = home-based MICROPROCESSOR under 902 KAR 45:090, which additionally requires UK Extension recipe/pH review AND cabinet pre-approval of every label — and per KRS 217.137(2) may be sold ONLY at farmers markets, certified roadside stands, or on the processor's farm.
KRS 217.136 confirms direct-to-consumer sales within Kentucky only, but does NOT contain the commonly cited "$60,000 annual gross-sales cap," nor a "primary residence only / no commercial equipment" restriction (the statute expressly permits market and online sales). Any dollar cap would come from 902 KAR 45:090 — confirm the current figure with the Food Safety Branch before relying on it.
Timeline: Home-based processor: register with the cabinet (Food Safety Branch) — typically days. Home-based microprocessor: longer — schedule University of Kentucky Extension training and recipe (pH/process) review, then submit each label to the cabinet for pre-approval before marketing; plan several weeks.
Cost: $0 for the exemption itself — home-based processors are exempt from the state food permit and simply register with the cabinet (generally free/low-cost). Home-based microprocessor recipe review is reported at roughly $5 per recipe submitted, plus any Extension training cost. Confirm current fees with the Kentucky Food Safety Branch and your UK Extension office.
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Make my Kentucky label →Kentucky requires this exact statement on a cottage food label: “This product is home-produced and processed.” It must be set at a minimum of 10-point type.
No. Kentucky does not require a permit or registration number printed on the label.
At minimum: product name — the common name of the food; your business / producer name; the address of the cottage food operation; a complete ingredient list, in descending order by weight (sub-ingredients included); an allergen declaration — the 9 major FDA allergens, in the ingredient list or a “Contains:” line; net weight, in US customary and metric units; the state's required disclaimer at a minimum of 10-point type (see below); the date the food was made.
No. CottageCompliance gives general information based on each state's published rules, dated to when we last verified them. Always confirm with your state or local agency before selling.
Source: KRS 217.136 (label at subsec. (3), misbranding at (4)) and KRS 217.015(56)-(58), as amended by 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 52, eff. 15 July 2026 — Kentucky Legislative Research Commission. Allowed foods, kitchen standards, allergens, DFS-250 and the $50 fee: 902 KAR 45:090, certified effective 14 May 2026. Verified 2026-08-10. General information, not legal advice — confirm with your state or local agency before selling.