Planned featurePlanned

Bakery labels with ingredients and allergens, from your recipes

A bakery label needs five things: the product name, the ingredients in descending order by weight, the allergens it contains, the net weight, and who made it. Many home bakers write these by hand in a word processor and retype them every time a recipe changes. Automatic labels in Farinu are planned, not live yet: your recipes in Farinu already hold every ingredient and its quantity, so the label can come straight from them. Until it ships, this page shows how to write the label yourself, with a worked example, and links to a free food label template.

Last verified October 11, 2026

How to write the ingredient list on a bakery label

Start from the recipe, not from memory. Write down every ingredient with its weight for one batch, including what goes into fillings, frostings and glazes. Then sort the list from heaviest to lightest. That order is the ingredient line on your label.

Compound ingredients, such as chocolate chips or a ready-made sprinkle mix, are listed with their own ingredients in brackets, copied from the supplier's package. This is where hidden allergens like soy lecithin or milk powder usually come from.

Example only: a batch of chocolate chip cookies with the weights below gives the ingredient line: wheat flour, butter (milk), sugar, chocolate chips (sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla), eggs, baking soda, salt. Contains: wheat, milk, eggs, soy.

A Nutrition Facts panel is usually not needed for direct sales. The FDA exempts small businesses from nutrition labeling unless the label makes a nutrition or health claim, such as low sugar, and most cottage food laws ask only for the ingredient and allergen label.

• Product name, the common name a customer would recognise (Chocolate chip cookies).
• Ingredient list in descending order by weight, with compound ingredients broken down.
• Allergen statement (Contains: ...), matching the ingredient list.
• Net weight (12 oz), with a count if you want one (6 cookies).
• Your name or business name and address, plus any statement your state requires for home kitchens.

Allergen labels: what to declare

In the United States, food labels declare the nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. Sesame joined the list most recently, so older templates may still show eight.

Name the allergen source in plain words. Butter (milk) or a Contains: milk, wheat line both work. For tree nuts, fish and crustacean shellfish, name the specific kind, such as almonds, cod or shrimp.

Cross-contact matters in a home kitchen. If you bake with peanuts on the same counter, many bakers add a precautionary line such as Made in a kitchen that also handles peanuts. Check what your state asks for, because cottage food rules differ.

What you can do today with Farinu and a free food label template

Because Farinu costs every recipe from its ingredients, packaging and sub-recipes, the recipe page already lists each ingredient and quantity. Open it, copy the list into the template, sort by weight, and add the allergens.

• Use the free food label template for cottage bakers or the allergen label template linked below.
• Keep each recipe in Farinu with its sub-recipes, so a frosting's ingredients are never forgotten.
• Update the label whenever you change a supplier, since a new brand of chocolate chips can bring a new allergen.
• Check your state's cottage food page for the exact wording and statements it requires.

Read next: Food label template for cottage food bakers, Free allergen chart and ingredient label template for bakers

What the label feature will do (planned)

The planned ingredient label maker will turn a recipe you already costed into a ready-to-print label, so the label and the recipe never drift apart.

• Build the ingredient list in descending order by weight from the recipe, sub-recipes included.
• Let you mark which ingredients contain which allergens once, then reuse that on every recipe that uses them.
• Add the Contains: line automatically.
• Add your business name and address to every label.
• Print cookie labels and bakery box labels ready to stick on.

Bakery labels for cookies, cakes and boxes

For individually bagged cookies, a small round or rectangular sticker with the name, Contains: line and your business name fits on the bag, with the full ingredient list on the back or on a second sticker.

For cakes and mixed boxes, label the box with every item inside. If a box mixes cookies and brownies, the ingredient list can be given per item, so customers with allergies can check each one.

Sources

• FDA: Food Allergies (the nine major food allergens)
• FDA: Food Labeling Guide
• FDA: FASTER Act, sesame as the ninth major allergen

Questions

Can I print labels from Farinu today?

Not yet. Labels are a planned feature. Today you can copy each recipe's ingredients and quantities from Farinu into the free food label template.

What goes on a food label for homemade baked goods?

The product name, ingredients in descending order by weight, the allergens it contains, the net weight, and your name and address. Many states also require a statement that the food was made in a home kitchen; check your state's rules.

Which allergens do I have to list on bakery labels?

In the US, the nine major allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. In baking, wheat, milk, eggs, soy and tree nuts are the most common.

Will the label feature cost extra?

We have not decided how it will fit the plans yet. Costing is free for up to 10 recipes, and the Team plan covers more.

Related pages

• Food label template for cottage food bakers
• Free allergen chart and ingredient label template for bakers
• A recipe nutrition calculator built into your costed recipes
• Nutrition facts label template and free method for bakers
• Cottage food laws by state
• Bakery recipe costing software