Utah Cottage Food Can you legally sell food from home in Utah?
Cottage Food Law
Utah has two laws that allow for the sale of homemade food. This page is for Utah’s cottage food law, which has existed since 2007.
Utah also has a newer food freedom law, which is much easier to setup and allows many more types of food items, but is more restricted in other ways. If you only plan to sell from home or at farmers markets, you will likely want to use that law.
This older cottage food law requires a lengthy (and potentially expensive) application process, but once setup, a cottage food operation can sell at almost any location within the state. Most nonperishable foods are allowed, and there is no sales limit, so this law is generally quite flexible.
However, the setup process involves food handler training, a home inspection, a $50 application, detailed written recipes, labels, multiple business plans, and possibly product testing at a lab. There are also many kitchen requirements, including keeping 14-day samples of every batch of product made.
Therefore, most people choose to start with the food freedom law, and then possibly consider this law once they become more established.
Selling Where can you sell homemade food products?
You must display a copy of your registration certificate wherever you sell your products.
A restaurant cannot use your products in their products, but you may be able to indirectly sell your packaged and labeled products at a restaurant.
Allowed Foods What food products can you sell from home?
If you grow fruits or vegetables that you use in your products, you must get a private pesticide applicator certification if you use any pesticides.
To sell honey, you need to contact UDAF’s Plant Industry Division to register your bee hives.
Limitations How will your home food business be restricted?
Pets are never allowed in the kitchen, and free-roaming pets, like cats or dogs, are only allowed in the home if they can be permanently blocked from entering the kitchen.
Business What do you need to do to sell food from home?
You must take a food handlers training course, which can be done online or in-person in a few hours. We recommend the Learn2Serve Food Handler Training course for $22.
If you have anyone helping and handling food, they also need to take the course.
Once you have your food handlers permit, you must submit a registration application, which costs $50 and must be renewed annually.
The application includes:
- Detailed recipes for each product you want to sell
- Labels for each product you want to sell
- A plan for storing ingredients, equipment, and your products
- Plans for packaging, transportation, and sales
- A list of locations where you plan to sell your products
Before your license gets approved, an inspector will come to your home. If you have pets, make sure that you can show them that your pets never have access to your kitchen.
For some recipes, the ag department may require testing from a food processing authority.
If your water supply comes from a private well, it must be tested annually.
Labeling How do you label cottage food products?
Chocolate Chip Cookies
"Home Produced" (12-point bold type)
Forrager Cookie Company
123 Chewy Way, Cookietown, UT 73531
Phone: (123) 456-7890
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)
Contains: milk, eggs, wheat, soy
NET WT 2 lb 4 oz (1.02 kg)
Products that are custom-ordered (e.g. wedding cakes) or on-demand (sold out of a display case and handed to customer) are exempt from full labeling. However, you must give an ingredient list to the buyer, if they request it. Also, if you sell products on-demand, your booth must be equipped with a hand washing station, and anyone handling the food must have a food handlers permit.
Detailed information about labeling is in the Application Packet.
Workplace Are there any home kitchen requirements?
You must keep samples from each batch of product for 14 days, labeled with the date and time it was produced.
There are many workplace requirements, which are listed in the Checklist for Home Food Production.
Resources Where can you find more information about this law?
- Job Title
- Cottage Food Program Coordinator
- Organization
- Utah Department of Agriculture and Food
- rjnielsen@utah.gov
- Telephone
- (385) 799-0281
- Fax
- (385) 465-6023
- Address
- 4315 South 2700 West
TSOB South Bldg, Floor 2
Taylorsville, UT 84129-2128
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