Indiana Can you legally sell food from home in Indiana?

Cottage Food Law

LAW UPDATE

In 2021, Indiana passed a new bill (SB 185) that may improve their cottage food law in 2022.

This bill creates a working group which is tasked with determining recommendations for cottage food businesses. Most likely, the group’s findings will be used to try to pass a bill in 2022 to improve the law.

To learn more, and to help, please see this Facebook group.

Indiana’s laws are very restrictive in they only allow sales at farmers markets and roadside stands.

Aside from that, however, the laws are quite lenient. Home based vendors can sell any types of nonperishable foods, and there is no limit for how much they can sell. Also, there is no registration, fees, or process to get setup.

Table of Contents

Selling Allowed Foods Limitations Labeling Resources Forum

Selling Where can you sell homemade food products?

Allowed Venues

Farmers markets Roadside stands

Prohibited Venues

Events Home Restaurants Retail stores

Prohibited Services

Catering Delivery Mail order Home Pickup Wholesale

You may take pre-orders (over the internet, for instance), but customers must pick up their products from your farmers market booth or roadside stand.

Allowed Foods What food products can you sell from home?

Bread

Bagels Biscuits Breads Brownies Cake pops Cakes Cookies Cupcakes Donuts Macarons Muffins Pizzelles Rolls Scones Sweet breads Tortillas Wedding cakes

Candy

Brittles Buttercream frosting Candies Chocolate Cotton candy Fudge Lollipops Truffles

Condiments

Honey Nut butters Oils Pickles Syrups Vinegars

Dry goods

Cereals Coffee beans Dried fruit Dried vegetables Herbs Mixes Pasta noodles Spices & Seasonings Tea leaves

Other

Fermented foods Whole eggs

Pastries

Churros Cones Danish Empanadas Other Pastries Pies

Preserves

Fruit butters Jams & jellies Marmalades Other Preserves

Snacks

Caramel corn Chocolate-covered items Crackers & Pretzels Fruit leathers Granola Kettle corn Marshmallows Nuts & seeds Popcorn Popcorn balls Vegetable chips

Prohibited Foods

Perishable baked goods Acidified foods Low-acid canned foods Salsas Sauces Juices Ketchup Meat jerkies Hardboiled whole eggs

There are probably more prohibited foods, but the ones above have been confirmed

You can only sell fermented produce, if it is not stored in an oxygen-sealed container.

If you can to sell honey, see this document.

You can sell whole chickens or rabbits that you raised, if you meet certain requirements.

Only "non-potentially hazardous" foods are allowed, but certain non-PHFs may not be allowed. Most foods that don't need to be refrigerated (foods without meat, cheese, etc.) are considered non-potentially hazardous. Learn more

Limitations How will your home food business be restricted?

Limitations

Commercial kitchen prohibited Direct sales only Primary residence

There may be more limitations, but the ones above have been confirmed

There is no sales limit

Labeling How do you label cottage food products?

Label Requirements

Business address Business name Date produced Ingredients Net amount Product name Statement

Sample Label

Chocolate Chip Cookies

"This product is home produced and processed and the production area has not been inspected by the State Department of Health." (10-point type)

Forrager Cookie Company

123 Chewy Way, Cookietown, IN 73531

Ingredients: enriched flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), butter (cream, salt), semi-sweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, milkfat, soy lecithin, natural flavors), brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla extract (vanilla bean extract, alcohol, sugar), baking soda, salt (salt, calcium silicate)

Produced on 9/20/2021

NET WT 2 lb 4 oz (1.02 kg)

In addition to net weight, the label must also include the volume of the product.

If a labeling a product isn’t practical (e.g. the product isn’t packaged), you may place a placard with the same information up at the point of sale.