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Selling homemade food in Alaska means your label has to follow the Alaska Homemade Food Exemption — AS 17.20.332–17.20.338 (Homemade Food; Animal Shares), enacted by HB 251 of the 33rd Alaska Legislature (2024); administered by the Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Food Safety & Sanitation Program. 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:
Verbatim wording is fixed by statute at AS 17.20.332(e)(2) — quote it exactly, including the 'except for meat and meat products' carve-out; do not paraphrase or shorten. Confirmed against the enrolled bill (CSHB 251(L&C) am, 2024) and the Alaska DEC 'Requirements for Selling' page, both of which reproduce this exact sentence. (Ignore older third-party guides that omit the meat carve-out — they quote a superseded 2022-era draft; the enacted 2024 law and DEC's live page include it.) The label as a whole must be 'clearly and prominently labeled.' No minimum point size is prescribed by statute. Applies to homemade food 'packaged for individual sale.' For UNPACKAGED homemade food, no printed label is required, but before the sale the producer/third-party seller must, under AS 17.20.332(g): (1) inform the buyer the food was prepared under AS 17.20.332–17.20.338 and is not subject to certain state certification/labeling/licensing/packaging/regulation/inspection requirements, and (2) provide the producer's name, current address, telephone number, and business license number if applicable. Separately, under AS 17.20.332(d), a retail space selling homemade food must prominently display a sign stating the food was made in a home kitchen, may contain allergens, and is not (except for permitted meat and meat products) regulated or inspected.
Alaska is a 'food freedom' state, not a classic capped cottage-food state. The 2024 rewrite (HB 251, AS 17.20.332–.338) grants a broad exemption from state labeling, licensing, packaging, permitting AND inspection — with NO revenue cap, NO volume limit and NO application — and even lets producers sell some meat/meat products (via animal shares under AS 17.20.334) and potentially hazardous homemade foods direct to consumers. That is exactly why the mandatory label statement is unusually specific: it must carry the 'except for meat and meat products' carve-out, language virtually no other state uses. There is no cottage-food permit or registration number to print, so an Alaska business license number is the only ID the label can carry — and only 'if applicable.'
AS 17.20.332(e)(2) fixes the full sentence including 'except for meat and meat products' and 'may contain allergens.' Shortening it to 'Made in a home kitchen. Not inspected.' is non-compliant. Beware online guides that tell you to DROP the meat carve-out — they quote a superseded pre-2024 draft; the enacted law and Alaska DEC both require it. Reproduce it word for word.
The label shows the producer's business license number only 'if applicable.' There is no cottage-food permit/registration number — do not invent a permit-number field. If you operate as a business (most do; DEC says a business license is required with some exceptions), include the Alaska business license number.
Sales must be for the buyer's personal consumption, occur in Alaska, and cannot involve interstate commerce. A buyer may not offer the food for resale, and (except raw unprocessed fruits/vegetables) homemade food can't be used or sold in a commercial food establishment. Selling wholesale to a restaurant to re-serve breaks the exemption.
For potentially hazardous homemade food (except eggs), the seller must also be the producer — a third-party shop cannot resell it. Eggs and non-potentially-hazardous foods may be sold through an agent of the producer or a third-party vendor.
Timeline: Immediate — no state application, permit, inspection, or waiting period for the homemade-food exemption itself. If you need an Alaska business license (required with some exceptions), obtain it first online through the Division of Corporations, Business & Professional Licensing (typically same-day to a few days) so its number can appear on the label when applicable.
Cost: $0 for the homemade-food exemption — no permit and no fee, and no revenue or volume cap. The only real cost is an Alaska business license (~$50/year) when required, whose number you then print on the label 'if applicable.'
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Make my Alaska label →Alaska requires this exact statement on a cottage food label: “This food was made in a home kitchen, is not regulated or inspected, except for meat and meat products, and may contain allergens.” The state sets no minimum point size for it.
No. Alaska 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 (see below); a telephone number for the operation.
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: AS 17.20.332(e) as enacted — enrolled bill CSHB 251(L&C) am (33rd Alaska Legislature, 2024): https://www.akleg.gov/basis/get_documents.asp?docid=45718&session=33 ; Alaska DEC Food Safety & Sanitation, Requirements for Selling (official homemade-food program page): https://dec.alaska.gov/eh/fss/homemade-food/requirements Verified 2026-08-10. General information, not legal advice — confirm with your state or local agency before selling.