Arizona Cottage Food Law: Food Safety Training Requirements

Cottage — or homemade — food businesses have increased in popularity as more people want to know where their food comes from and who makes it.

Each state has its own regulations for cottage foods, including regulations related to food safety training.

This article discusses the Arizona cottage food law, and whether you need food safety training to sell homemade food.

Arizona cottage food program

Arizona’s cottage food program allows you to make homemade foods that don’t require time or temperature controls and sell them to people in-person or online, but only to addresses in Arizona.

Here is a list of approved cottage foods:

• fruit jams, jellies, and pies
• dry mixes and pasta
• roasted nuts
• honey
• breads and sweet breads
• brownies and fudge
• donuts, scones, cookies, and muffins
• candies
• cakes with hard icings or frostings that don’t require refrigeration
• fruit pies with fruit and sugar fillings
• popcorn and granola
• roasted coffee beans
• tortillas

Conversely, Arizona’s cottage food law prohibits foods such as:

• salsas and sauces
• fermented and pickled foods
• meat, fish, and shellfish
• beverages
• nut butters
• pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, and pecan pie
• cheesecake and custard or cream-style pies
• tamales
• butter and spreads
• syrups, extracts, and tinctures
• dehydrated fruits and vegetables

You also cannot make and sell dog treats or pet foods as animal food is considered commercial feed and regulated by the Arizona Department of Agriculture.

Because Arizona doesn’t regulate retail food establishments such as restaurants like they do cottage food businesses, Arizona will not inspect your home kitchen.

Still, it’s your responsibility to ensure you follow the proper production guidelines to reduce the risk of spreading foodborne pathogens to your customers.

Do you need food safety training to sell homemade food in Arizona?

Arizona requires that you complete a food safety course before you can register for the state’s cottage food program to sell your homemade foods, no matter your county of residence.

This training must be an ANSI-National Accreditation Board (ANAB)-accredited food handlers course, such as the one offered by FoodSafePal (1).

ANAB-accredited food handler training is the same training required for food employees at food establishments in certain Arizona counties.

You can complete FoodSafePal’s ANAB-accredited online food handler program in under two hours.

The course covers important food safety principles, such as:

• cross-contamination and cross-contact prevention
• good personal hygiene and handwashing
• cleaning and sanitizing procedures

After the course, you must demonstrate your knowledge of these topics by passing a 40-question multiple-choice test, and answer at least 28 (70%) correctly.

If you don’t pass the first time, you can retake it for free.

After you pass, you’re issued a food handler certificate and card that you will need for registering your cottage food business.

Your food handler certificate and card will be good for three years from the date you earn it.

Depending on which county you live in, you may need to bring your food handler certificate to your local health department and pay a conversion fee to be issued a county-specific food handler card.

As part of the application process to register your cottage food business, you’re required to upload a copy of your food handler certificate, so don’t forget to save a PDF copy after you pass.

You will also need to enter the expiration date of the food handler card, which will be three years from the date you passed.

You must keep your certificate active while in business by retaking the course every three years to remain complaint with Arizona’s cottage food program.

Labeling requirements

The only thing you need before you can submit your application to register for Arizona’s cottage food program is a copy of a food handler certificate from an ANAB-accredited provider, like FoodSafePal.

However, it’s your responsibility to ensure you’re following the labeling requirements for your products.

Arizona requires that you attach a label with the following information to each product:

• your name or business name
• registration number (provided after your application is approved)
• list of ingredients (best practice is to list in descending order of predominance)
• the product’s production date
• the statement: “This product was produced in a home kitchen that may process common food allergens and is not subject to public health inspection.”

If your cottage food product was made in a facility for individuals with developmental disabilities, you must also include the following statement on the label, “This product was made in a facility for individuals with developmental disabilities.”

Properly labeling your homemade goods allows you to sell your homemade goods from retail food establishments.

The bottom line

Under the Arizona cottage food program, you can sell homemade foods that don’t require time or temperature controls directly to people within the state.

However, before you can register for the Arizona cottage food program, you must complete an ANAB-accredited food handler course, such as FoodSafePal’s.

Arizona requires that each food product have an attached label that discloses certain information, such as who made the product and when and a list of the ingredients it contains.

You can register for a new cottage food business in Arizona here.