Looking for Michigan Cottage Food Laws and Regulations: How to sell your homemade foods in Michigan in 2024? Scroll down this page and follow the links. And if you bring home some fruit or vegetables and want to can, freeze, make jam, salsa or pickles, see this page for simple, reliable, illustrated canning, freezing or preserving directions. There are plenty of other related resources, click on the resources dropdown above. If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days.
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Date of the enactment of the Michigan cottage food law: 2010, Cottage Foods Law
Certain non-potentially hazardous foods (time and/or temperature controls not required to assure food safety;- meaning foods can safely be kept at room temperature and do not require refrigeration) meet the requirements for cottage foods and can be prepared in a home kitchen and sold directly to consumers without a license. Many of these items are identified by MDARD.
Examples include:
Potential Hazardous Foods PHF/TCS is a food that:
Please refer to the 2009 Michigan Modified Food Code for pH and water activity tables.Examples of PHF/TCS foods include:
Don't give up. You may still be able to make and sell it commercially, through a startup approach.
First, you may be able to rent space in a local licensed commercial kitchen.
Second, if that doesn't work, you may be able to get a co-packer to make the food for you.
Michigan's Cottage Food Law, PA 113 of 2010 exempts a "cottage food operation" from the licensing and inspection provisions of the Michigan Food Law. A cottage food operation still has to comply with the labeling, adulteration, and other provisions found in the Michigan Food Law, as well as other applicable state or federal laws, or local ordinances.
Cottage Food Production Operations must label all of their food products properly, which include the following information on the label of each unit of food product offered or distributed for sale:
Hand-printed labels are acceptable if they are clearly legible, written with durable, permanent ink, and printed large enough to equal the font size requirements listed above.
Here is a free Microsoft Word label template which you can download and edit. These labels are already formatted to fit on Avery Template 5164 Print-to-the-Edge Labels 3-1/3-Inch x4-Inch, 6 per Sheet. You can get the label stock online (see at right). You can get the blank labels to make your own here online.
Depending on the size of your business, your label must comply with Federal label regulations and with the new nutritional labeling law. You can download a copy of the FDA Food Labeling Guide here it s an illustrated booklet that should answer all your questions.
Allergens: you must identify if any of your ingredients are made from one of the following food groups: milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, soybeans, fish (including shellfish, crab, lobster or shrimp) and tree nuts (such as almonds, pecans or walnuts). So if you have an ingredient made with a wheat based product, you have two options: 1. Include the allergen in the ingredient list. For example, a white bread with the following ingredient listing: whole wheat flour, water, salt and yeast. In this example the statement Whole Wheat Flour, meets the requirements of federal law. 2. Include an allergen statement ("Contains:") after the ingredient list. For example a white bread, with the following ingredients: whole wheat flour, water, sodium caseinate, salt and yeast. Contains wheat and milk. The "Contains" statement must reflect all the allergens found in the product. In this example, the sodium caseinate comes from milk.
You must identify which tree nut you are using. For example, if you made the following product: Nut Bread, an acceptable ingredient list would be: wheat flour, water, almonds, salt, yeast. The following would not be acceptable: flour, water, nuts, salt, yeast.
At above right is an example of a label that should help you develop your own labels. You can get the blank labels to make your own here online.
Meanwhile, below it, at right, is the state's sample label
The state of Michigan's sample label is in a (frankly) absurd order...putting the very OFF-putting warning at the top of the label. The law does NOT require that and only someone absolutely clueless in marketing would do that. The law requires only the following:
"Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development" in at least the equivalent of 11-point font (about 1/8" tall) and in a color that provides a clear contrast to the background (All capital letters or upper/lower case are both acceptable).
So do that... and put it at the bottom of the label!
And here is a detailed labeling guide.
You may sell your Cottage Foods directly to the consumer at farmers' markets, farm stands, roadside stands and similar venues. The key is you are selling it directly to the consumer.
You cannot sell your Cottage Foods to a retailer for them to resell or to a restaurant for use or sale in the restaurant.
You cannot sell your Cottage Foods over the internet, by mail order, or to wholesalers, brokers or other food distributors who will resell the Cottage Foods.
Beyond the requirements, common sense, good practices and reducing liability suggests you should do the following.
It's best to use a pH meter, properly calibrated on the day
used. I use this one, which is reliable and inexpensive.
And this pH meter is really good, but isn't always available.
Short-range paper
pH test strips, commonly known as litmus paper, may be used
instead, if the product normally has a pH of 4.0 or lower and the
paper's range includes a pH of 4.6.
Keep a written record of every batch of product made for sale, including:
Although inspections are not required, you should consider doing the following:
If you have a question or concern about the Michigan Cottage Food Law not covered, please contact the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development at
Phone: MDARD at 800-292-3939. or
Email: MDA-Info@Michigan.gov
. Please supply your zip code with your question, so it can be directed to a food inspector in your area.
Water bath canner with a jar rack
Pressure canners for gas, electric and induction stoves: Presto 23Qt or T-fal 22Qt
Canning scoop (this one is PERFECT)
Ball Blue book (most recent version)
Jars: 8oz canning jars for jams
Farm markets and roadside stands
Road trips and camping resources
Local Honey, apiaries, beekeepers
Consumer fraud and scams information
Home canning supplies at the best prices on the internet!
Maple Syrup Farms, sugarworks, maple syrup festivals
Environmental information and resources
Farms For Your Event for birthday parties, weddings, receptions, business meetings, retreats, etc.
Festivals - local fruit and vegetable festivals
Get the
most recent version of
the Ball Blue Book
With this Presto 23 quart pressure canner and pressure cooker, you can "can" everything, fruits, vegetables, jams, jellies, salsa, applesauce, pickles, even meats, soups, stews. Model 01781
You can make jams, jellies, can fruit, applesauce, salsa and pickles with water bath canners, like this Granite Ware 12-Piece Canner Kit, Jar Rack, Blancher, Colander and 5 piece Canning Tool Set