US allergen labelling for small food businesses: the Big 9 explained

In the US, packaged food has to declare the major food allergens it contains. The rules come from the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA), and the FASTER Act added sesame from 1 January 2023, making nine. If you sell packaged baked goods, whether licensed or under a cottage food law, this applies to you.

This is a plain-English summary. Your state and the FDA's own guidance have the final word, and your state's cottage food or health department can tell you exactly what they expect.

The Big 9

Milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame.

Two ways to declare them

You can use either, or both:

• In the ingredients list, in brackets after the ingredient: "flour (wheat)", "whey (milk)", "lecithin (soy)". If the ingredient's name already says it, like "wheat flour" or "milk", that counts.
• A "Contains" statement straight after the ingredients list: "Contains: Wheat, Milk, Eggs, Almonds". If you use one, it must list every major allergen in the product.

Name the exact nut, fish or shellfish

"Tree nuts" or "fish" isn't enough. Say which one: almonds, pecans, walnuts; salmon, cod; shrimp, crab. Under the FDA's latest guidance (January 2025), coconut is no longer counted as a tree nut, and milk from goats and sheep, and eggs from other birds such as duck, count as milk and eggs.

An example label

Ingredients: Enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), butter (cream, salt), sugar, eggs, pecans, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt. Contains: Wheat, Milk, Eggs, Pecans.

Ingredients in order of weight

List ingredients from heaviest to lightest, as weighed into the recipe. Bought-in ingredients with their own ingredient list, like chocolate chips, should have their ingredients listed too.

Cottage food rules add to this

If you sell under your state's cottage food law, your state sets its own label rules on top. Most ask for the name and address of your business, the product name, ingredients, net weight, the allergen declaration, and a statement such as "Made in a home kitchen that is not inspected by the health department". The exact wording varies, so copy it from your state's guidance.

"May contain" statements

Advisory statements like "may contain tree nuts" or "made in a facility that also processes peanuts" are voluntary. They should be truthful and based on a real risk, not added to everything by default.

Making it manageable

Record allergens on each ingredient once, and build every label from that. In MakrPrep, choose the US Big 9 in your allergen settings, tick allergens on each ingredient, and every recipe shows its full allergen list and an ingredients list in weight order, including anything inside your own sub-recipes.

Selling in the UK? See Natasha's Law explained. Starting out? Read how to start a food business in the US.