Cottage food rules
New Arizona Cottage Food Laws: What Home Bakers Need
A plain walk through Arizona's current cottage food rules, so you know what you can sell and how to sell it.
On this page
What to remember
- Sell only bakes that are not potentially hazardous and do not need time or temperature control for food safety.
- Arizona defines potentially hazardous by the food code published by the US Food and Drug Administration, as modified and incorporated by rule.
- Dairy, meat and poultry items must be sold by you, in person or remotely, including over the internet.
- If you offer a cottage food product for sale online, post a prominent notice with all the required labeling information.
The easiest way to read the rules is to start with the product, not the paperwork. Arizona’s Cottage Food Program allows individuals to make homemade products that are neither potentially hazardous nor Time or Temperature Control for Safety foods and offer them for sale. Everything else on this page hangs off that one idea. If you like seeing how another state handled a rules change, this look at Michigan’s update is a useful comparison, and what goes on a cottage food label helps you get your labels ready before your first order.
What you can sell from your home kitchen
The line Arizona draws is about food safety, not about how good a baker you are. A cottage food product prepared in a home kitchen may be offered for commercial sale only if it is not potentially hazardous and does not require time and temperature control for food safety. Under Arizona law, potentially hazardous means the product does not meet the requirements of the food code published by the US Food and Drug Administration, as modified and incorporated by rule. Read that definition closely, because it is the one that decides whether a recipe belongs in your shop or stays on your own table.
The rules refer to a registered cottage food preparer, and the state health department publishes a how to register guide for the Cottage Food Program. That is worth doing early, before you start taking paid orders, so you are not trying to sort it out during a busy week.
Dairy, meat and poultry need you to sell them
This is the part most home bakers miss. Cottage food products that are dairy products, or that contain meat or poultry, must be sold by the food preparer of the cottage food product in person or remotely, including over the internet. You can still take those orders. What you cannot do is hand that selling off to someone else.
What to post when you sell online
If a cottage food product is offered for sale online, the registered cottage food preparer shall provide a prominent notification that includes all of the required labeling information. Prominent is the word to hold onto. A line buried at the bottom of a page is not the same as a notice a buyer sees while they are ordering. Put it where the order happens. If you are still weighing how to take orders at all, this fair roundup of home bakery apps walks through the options without pushing you toward any one of them.
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Rules like these change, and the wording matters more than any summary, including this one. Before you add a new kind of bake to your shop, check the current text on the state legislature site and the health department’s Cottage Food Program pages, and read the labeling requirement for online sales in full.
Common questions
Can I sell homemade baked goods from my kitchen in Arizona?
Only if the products are not potentially hazardous and do not require time and temperature control for food safety. Arizona's Cottage Food Program allows individuals to make homemade products that are neither potentially hazardous nor Time or Temperature Control for Safety foods and offer them for sale.
What does potentially hazardous mean in Arizona?
Under Arizona law, potentially hazardous means that a cottage food product does not meet the requirements of the food code published by the US Food and Drug Administration, as modified and incorporated by rule.
Can I sell items made with dairy, meat or poultry?
Cottage food products that are dairy products or that contain meat or poultry must be sold by the food preparer of the cottage food product in person or remotely, including over the internet. The preparer has to be the seller.
What do I need to post if I sell online?
If a cottage food product is offered for sale online, the registered cottage food preparer shall provide a prominent notification that includes all of the required labeling information.
Do I need to register in Arizona?
The rules refer to a registered cottage food preparer, and the state health department publishes a how to register guide for the Cottage Food Program.
Sources
This is general information about Arizona cottage food rules, not legal advice. Rules change, so confirm the current text with the Arizona legislature and the state health department before you sell.