Utah Cottage Food Can you legally sell food from home in Utah?
Cottage Food Law
Utah has 3 laws for selling 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. There is no sales limit, but you can only sell certain types of non-perishable foods.
The setup process involves food handler training, about $200 in first-year fees, detailed written recipes, and a home inspection. There are also many kitchen requirements, including a separate refrigerator just for your business and keeping 14-day samples of every batch of product made.
Therefore, most people choose to start with the food freedom law, and grow into this law once they become more established.
Selling Where can you sell homemade food products?
You must display a copy of your registration certificate at farmers markets, roadside stands, and any other booth or stand where you sell your products. If you sell to a store, you must also give them a copy of your registration to keep on site.
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?
The ag department has a list of permitted cottage food products, which has many restrictions, including:
- Frostings and fillings cannot contain cream, cream cheese, custard, meringue, or uncooked egg. Fresh fruit toppings are also not allowed.
- Pies are limited to fruit pies
- Homemade sourdough starters must have a lab-tested pH of 4.0 or less
- Cream-based chocolates (e.g. ganache, truffles) are not allowed
If you want to sell a food that isn’t on the list, you must check with a qualified food processing authority to make sure it is actually non-perishable.
To sell honey, you need to contact the ag department’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 at any time.
Business What do you need to do to sell food from home?
You must get a food handler permit by taking an approved food safety training course, such as ServSafe’s Food Handler course, which costs about $23 and can be completed online in a couple of hours. The permit is valid for 3 years.
If you have anyone helping and handling food, they also need a food handler permit.
You need to register with the ag department, which costs $100 and must be renewed annually. You also need to complete a plan review that costs $100, so expect to pay $200 in the first year.
When you register, you must list which categories of food you plan to make and provide a detailed recipe for each product, including the ingredients, amounts, and preparation steps. The ag department provides a recipe template.
Before you can start selling, an inspector will come to your home. The inspection is very detailed, and you can find the list of items the inspector will check in the application. If you have pets, make sure that you can show how you will keep them out of your kitchen.
If you use ingredients that need to be refrigerated (like eggs, butter, or milk), you must have a separate refrigerator that is only used for your business.
You must keep a sample from each batch of product for 14 days, and label it with the date and time you made it.
If you use a homemade sourdough starter, you must get it tested by a certified lab, and it must have a pH of 4.0 or less.
If you want to sell a food that isn’t on the ag department’s list of permitted cottage food products, you may need to get it tested to show that it is non-perishable.
If you have a private water source (e.g. private well), you must have your water 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 have a complete ingredient list available for the buyer.
You can find more information about labeling in the ag department’s labeling guidelines.
Workplace Are there any home kitchen requirements?
There are many workplace requirements, which are listed in the ag department’s checklist and application.
Resources Where can you find more information about this law?
- Job Title
- Cottage Food Program Manager
- Organization
- Utah Department of Agriculture and Food
- [email protected]
- Telephone
- (385) 799-0281
- Fax
- (385) 465-6023
- Address
- 4315 South 2700 West
TSOB South Bldg, Floor 2
Taylorsville, UT 84129-2128
Rebecca Nielsen
- April 2007
- HB 339
- August 2007
- Filing 30062
- May 2008
- HB 63
- July 2008
- Filing 31430
- May 2017
- HB 58
- May 2019
- HB 33
- February 2022
- Filing 54191
- January 2023
- Filing 55038
- July 2024
- HB 8
- July 2025
- SB 8