Food Safety Training Requirements for Cottage Food Businesses
The number of homemade — or cottage food — businesses has increased significantly over the years.
Fueling this demand is consumers’ growing interest in knowing where their food comes from and who produces it.
Each state has its own cottage foods laws that regulate the type and amount of foods you can make and sell.
These laws also determine whether you need food safety training before operating a cottage food business.
This article discusses the food safety training requirements for cottage food businesses so you can stay compliant with your state’s cottage food law.
What is cottage food?
Cottage foods are those that generally don’t require time or temperature controls to keep them safe.
Common examples of cottage foods include:
- nuts, like almonds, walnuts, and cashews
- grains, like rice, corn, and oats
- seeds, like sunflower, sesame, and chia seeds
- dry mixes, like spices, baking or granola mix, or coffee
- baked goods, like cookies, cakes, muffins, breads
- confectionary, like hard candies and chocolate
These foods don’t offer bacteria the environment or nutrients they need to survive and multiply.
As such, they are less likely to make people sick from a foodborne illness.
Conversely, most states generally prohibit the production and sale of foods with a favorable environment for bacterial growth, such as:
- cooked vegetables
- cooked hot dogs and pizza
- raw seed sprouts
- meats, poultry, and seafood
- dairy products
- cut melons, cut tomatoes, and leafy greens
These foods pose a greater risk of causing a foodborne illnesses since they are common sources of pathogens or disease-causing organisms.
States usually require that you sell your homemade foods directly to consumers in-person at the producer’s primary residence, a farmers’ market, a roadside stand, or another temporary venue, but don’t allow you to sell through third-party vendors like restaurants, grocery stores, or coffee shops.
Some states have a limit as the amount you can make with your cottage food business, while others allow unlimited sales.
Summary
Homemade or cottage food generally refers to foods that don’t require time or temperature controls to keep them safe, such as nuts, grains, seeds, dry mixes, baked goods, and confectionary.
Food safety training requirements for cottage food business by state
Many states require that you take a food safety course before operating a cottage foods business.
Most of these states require ANSI-National Accreditation Board (ANAB)-accredited food handler training.
Here are the food safety training requirement for cottage foods by state:
| State | Food Safety Training Requirements for Cottage Foods |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Yes, an ANAB-accredited food handler training course or other state-approved food safety course |
| Alaska | No |
| Arizona | Yes; an ANAB-accredited food handler training course or other state-approved food safety course |
| Arkansas | No |
| California | Yes; an ANAB-accredited food handler training course |
| Colorado | Yes; an ANAB-accredited food handler training course or other state-approved food safety course |
| Connecticut | Yes; an ANAB-accredited food handler training course or other state-approved food safety course |
| Delaware | Yes; an ANAB-accredited food handler training course or other state-approved food safety course |
| Florida | No |
| Georgia | Yes; an ANAB-accredited food handler training course or other state-approved food safety course |
| Hawaii | Yes; an ANAB-accredited food handler training course or other state-approved food safety course |
| Idaho | No |
| Illinois | Yes; an ANAB-Conference for Food Protection food safety manager course |
| Indiana | Yes; an ANAB-accredited food handler training course or other state-approved food safety course |
| Iowa | Yes; an ANAB-accredited food handler training course or other state-approved food safety course |
| Kansas | No |
| Kentucky | No |
| Louisiana | No |
| Maine | No |
| Maryland | Yes; an ANAB-accredited food handler training course or other state-approved food safety course |
| Massachusetts | No |
| Michigan | No |
| Minnesota | Yes; a state-approved course |
| Mississippi | No |
| Missouri | No |
| Montana | No |
| Nebraska | Yes, an ANAB-accredited food handler training course or other state-approved food safety course |
| Nevada | Yes; but only for acidified foods |
| New Hampshire | No |
| New Jersey | Yes; an ANAB-Conference for Food Protection food safety manager course |
| New Mexico | Yes; an ANAB-accredited food handler training course |
| New York | No |
| North Carolina | No |
| North Dakota | No |
| Ohio | No |
| Oklahoma | No |
| Oregon | No, but food safety training is required to sell time-temperature control for safety foods |
| Pennsylvania | No |
| Rhode Island | Yes, an ANAB-accredited food handler training course or other state-approved food safety course |
| South Carolina | No |
| South Dakota | No; but food safety training is required to sell canned goods |
| Tennessee | No |
| Texas | Yes; an ANAB-accredited food handler training course |
| Utah | Yes, a state-approved food handler course |
| Vermont | No |
| Virginia | Yes; an ANAB-accredited food handler training course, unless you’re exempt |
| Washington | Yes, a state-approved food handler course |
| West Virginia | No |
| Wisconsin | No |
| Wyoming | No |
Summary
This table outlines the food safety training requirements to operate a cottage food business for each state.
How to earn your food handler card as a cottage food operator
Most states that require food safety training to operate a cottage food business require that it be ANAB-accredited food handler training.
Earn Your Food Handlers Card + Certificate to Sell Cottage Foods
ANAB-Accredited and Fast and Easy to Complete
Food handler training covers content specific to licensed food establishments like restaurants, markets, and food trucks, as well as places that make and serve food like healthcare facilities and daycares.
Therefore, some of the content these courses cover won’t be relevant to your cottage food business.
However, you still must know and understand the material to pass the test at the end of the course and earn your food handler card.
Food handler courses cover topics like:
- good personal hygiene
- handwashing
- time and temperature controls
- cross-contact and cross-contamination prevention
- cleaning and sanitizing procedures
FoodSafePal’s Food Handler course consists of 40 multiple-choice questions, and you need to answer at least 28 (70%) correctly to pass.
You can train and test with FoodSafePal in under two hours.
Once you pass the test and earn your food handlers card, you can print or download it.
This card and certificate serves as proof that you successfully completed the training, which you can submit as part of your application with the state to sell homemade food.
Summary
To earn your food handler card as part of the application process to operate a cottage food business, enroll with a training provider like FoodSafePal that offers an ANAB-accredited food handler course.
The bottom line
Homemade or cottage food refers to food you make at home and sell directly to consumers, either in person or at a farmers’ market or other temporary venue.
Many states require you to complete an ANAB-accredited food handler training course before operating a cottage food business.
You earn a food handler certificate after passing the test, which you usually need as proof that you have completed the training when applying with your state to operate a cottage food business.
Earn Your Food Handlers Card + Certificate to Sell Cottage Foods
ANAB-Accredited and Fast and Easy to Complete
