I'll be making cookies for a potluck and because there will be several
desserts I thought I might bag them and let people take them home, sorta like favors. Everyone I work with has already had my cookies and they know what's in them. There will be people from other branches attending so I thought I'd make ingredient labels. I know the prevalent ingredient is first, the least is last. I'm using the NFSC (sans salt), Toba's Glace' and RI. Does this look about right to you? Do I need to "write out" the meringue powder?

Ingredients: Cookies: butter, sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla extract, baking
powder. Icings: powdered sugar, milk, corn syrup, meringue powder, water, vanilla extract and other flavorings. Includes Wheat, Milk, Eggs and Nuts.

I always add that flavorings may contain alcohol

I think your label is a good idea. Your major ingredient in the cookies is flour, so you should make flour the first ingredient on your list. The rest looks in the proper order. Not nitpickin', just thought you would want to know.

i had to add an ingredient label when i started wholesaleing

Yeah, ingreadients should be listed by volume rather than weight, from most to least.

I think it's a great idea. since some people have severe peanut allergies, is good to mention 'nuts' as you did (even if no nuts in actual products I see snack boxes in the store that say something like may contain nuts).
Good luck.

In Ohio under the cottage laws, I have to label and add all ingredients, so that includes all the subingredients as well, and I think it's a good idea to list the meringue powder and all its ingredients. If you are going to go through the trouble of making and printing out a label, then you might as well put it all on there.

I am also required to have an ingredient label per the State of NY for a home processor

I agree with MichelleM77. Meringue powder is not a standardized name. It can mean different things.

For example, Wiltonâs Meringue powder contains:
Corn Starch,
Egg whites,
Sugar,
Gum Arabic,
Calcium Sulfate,
Citric Acid,
Cream of Tarter,
Silicon Dioxide, and
Artificial Flavors

You should also consider listing the ingredients in the baking powder that you use.

What about the food coloring?

Full disclosure of the ingredients is always the best for your personal protection, and that of your customers.

I also wanted to let you know that by law you need to specify whether it is tree nuts or peanuts... My daughter can't have either, but I know some people can have one, but not the other.

Like the other person said even plain flour has other ingredients so make sure you write out:

flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, iron reduced, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid)

also include any allergy warnings that are on the label for my flour it says contains wheat and soybeans

good for you including ingredient labels! It is helpful to people with food allergies!

holy smokes, by the time you're done putting all that on you can't see the cookie anymore...

does anybody know how big it has to be. i mean is there a font size??

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/2lg-toc.html
This link will give you all the info you need and probably more!

What I remember is that the top 8 allergens need to be written in plain english and bolded font... I think that the font should be a minimum of 8pt... But double check the above link.

thanks! that's good information

In Ohio, the only font requirement for font size is to have the statement "This product is home produced" in 10-point type, but it doesn't say what font and every font has a different 10-point type! Of course I used the smallest one I could find for the whole label and still make it readable. I didn't think Ohio had allergy statement requirements though.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I hope those of you who sell or are thinking about it got some useful information. Personally, I'm just a hobbyist. My concern was that every time I make cookies people take them home. Which is fine for the people I work with and know. We've already been through the "What does this have in it? / Can I give it to my kids?" stuff. There will be people I know by way of phone and email only who will be attending and I thought the labels would make things easier.

Bless those of you who HAVE to do this. Good grief!!! And you're right kneadacookie, how are you supposed to see a 4" cookie with a 6" label?

mommy_of_3_DDs, thanks for the link it was very helpful. I didn't know about tree nuts vs. peanuts, that is very good information -- I figured they were pretty much the same.

So thanks again, everyone! I learned a great deal -- mostly that I never want to sell my cookies!!!

Oh, I don't have to label every single cookie unless they are sold individually, which I've only done once for a fundraiser. Just have to make sure the box of cookies you are giving/selling to someone has a label.

The FDA labeling link does have good information, but check with your state as well since their rules may vary slightly as to how you need to label.