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Selling homemade food in New Mexico means your label has to follow the New Mexico Homemade Food Act, NMSA 1978 §§ 25-12-1 to 25-12-5 (label content in § 25-12-3(C)); enforced by the NM Environment Department (NMED) Food Safety Bureau. 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:
§ 25-12-3(C)(4) prescribes this statement word-for-word and sets NO minimum font size under the Homemade Food Act. Per § 25-12-3(B), the required information (including the disclaimer) is provided: (1) on a label affixed to the package when the package is the unit of sale; (2) on a label on the container for bulk sales; (3) on a placard at the point of sale when neither packaged nor bulk; or (4) on the webpage where the item is offered for sale. For telephone or custom orders, § 25-12-3(B)(5) requires NO label, but the seller must still disclose to the consumer that the item is produced at a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection and may contain allergens. Separately, net weight is NOT required by the Act (only a non-statutory best practice). NOTE: the bold conspicuous 12-point 'home produced' type requirement comes from the DIFFERENT program — NMAC 7.6.2.15(D), the NMED home-based food processing PERMIT rule — and does NOT apply to the Homemade Food Act exemption; do not conflate the two. Confirm with the NMED Food Safety Bureau if operating under the permit rule instead of the exemption.
New Mexico's mandated disclaimer is unusual — it declares the product 'home produced and is exempt from state licensing and inspection' rather than the 'made in a home/cottage kitchen' wording most states use, and § 25-12-3(C)(4) fixes it word-for-word. The real gate to selling is not a permit (there is none) but a department-approved food handler certification course, which the seller must complete first (§ 25-12-3(A)(3)). NMED may run a purely VOLUNTARY permit system (§ 25-12-3(E)), but it is optional and does NOT let a seller hide or replace the mandatory home-contact block. New Mexico is also one of the few cottage-food regimes that require the processor's EMAIL address on the label alongside name, home address, and phone.
§ 25-12-3(C)(1) requires the processor's name, HOME address, telephone number, AND email address. There is no statutory way to swap this contact block for a permit or identification number — the optional NMED permit under § 25-12-3(E) does not replace it. A business PO box in place of the home address is not what the statute calls for.
§ 25-12-3(C)(3) requires only 'the ingredients of the food item in descending order of predominance.' The Act does NOT mandate FDA-style sub-ingredient breakout (e.g. 'butter (cream (milk), salt)'), a separate 'Contains:' allergen line, or a net-weight statement — the allergen warning is delivered by the required disclaimer sentence. Those federal-style elements are good practice but are not conditions of the Act's protection.
The bold conspicuous 12-point 'home produced' type requirement is from NMAC 7.6.2.15(D), the separate home-based food processing PERMIT program — not the Homemade Food Act exemption. Using it does no harm, but assuming the exemption mandates it (or that any permit is required at all) is a common mix-up.
Many online cottage-food templates carry 'Made in a home kitchen' or 'This product was produced in a private residence...' phrasing borrowed from other states. New Mexico requires the codified sentence exactly: 'This product is home produced and is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens.' Substituting near-synonyms risks losing the Act's exemption.
Timeline: No permit and no waiting period under the exemption. You may begin selling as soon as you (1) complete a food handler certification course approved by the department (§ 25-12-3(A)(3)) and (2) have compliant labels/placards ready. The Act itself sets no course-validity or renewal interval — confirm the card's validity period (commonly ~3 years) with your provider or NMED. NMED's permit system (§ 25-12-3(E)) is voluntary and not needed to start.
Cost: $0 — no permit required under the Homemade Food Act. The only realistic out-of-pocket cost is the department-approved food handler certification course (roughly $0–$25 depending on provider) plus label/placard printing.
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Make my New Mexico label →New Mexico requires this exact statement on a cottage food label: “This product is home produced and is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens.” The state sets no minimum point size for it.
No. New Mexico 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: NMSA 1978 §§ 25-12-1 to 25-12-5 (Homemade Food Act), label content in § 25-12-3(C), verbatim text via National Agricultural Law Center: https://nationalaglawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/cottagefood/New-Mexico.pdf ; NMED Homemade Food Act page: https://www.env.nm.gov/foodprogram/homemade-food-act/ ; separate permit rule NMAC 7.6.2.15(D) Verified 2026-08-10. General information, not legal advice — confirm with your state or local agency before selling.