What Meta's Commerce Policies say about food
Every Marketplace listing falls under Meta's Commerce Policies. Search them for food and you won't find it: there is no food category among the prohibited or restricted items. The rules that do touch a food seller:
- Alcohol is prohibited.
- Ingestible supplements are prohibited, as part of the medical and healthcare products rule.
- Animals and animal parts are prohibited. The policy doesn't say how that applies to food like jerky, and we won't guess.
- Recalled or banned products can't be sold.
- Misleading products and offers are not allowed.
So an elderberry syrup sold as a supplement is out, while the same kitchen's cookies are not affected by any Meta food rule. The policies also put the law on you:
Marketplace is built for consumer-to-consumer sales
The same paragraph says businesses in the European Economic Area, the Philippines and India may face restrictions on Marketplace, up to removed listings. It names no such restriction for the US. For a home cook, the tighter limit is state law, which in many states requires that you sell directly to the person who eats the food.
Break the Commerce Policies and Meta can reject or remove your listings, or suspend your access to its commerce features. If a food listing is removed and you think it's a mistake, the policy page links to the steps for requesting a review.
Selling food on Facebook Marketplace: what your state allows
To your state, a Marketplace listing is mostly advertising. What cottage food laws control is the sale and the hand-over. Seven states show the range:
| State | Selling through an online listing | Getting the food to the buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | Online orders allowed, once the label information is on your website and before payment | You, an employee or a household member delivers in person. No shipping |
| Washington | Your products can be online if the sale is completed in person | In person in Washington. No shipping or mail order |
| Mississippi | Advertising on social media is fine, online sales are not | The sale is made person to person |
| New Jersey | Advertise, take orders and accept payment online | Handed over in person in New Jersey. No mail, courier or third-party delivery |
| Connecticut | Advertise and take orders online | No mail, UPS, FedEx or food delivery apps, and nothing outside Connecticut |
| Michigan | Allowed if the buyer can interact with you directly before the sale | Sold and delivered inside Michigan, a food delivery platform included |
| Nebraska | Pickup or delivery sales, with the kitchen notice on your website and in internet ads | Shelf-stable food may ship. Refrigerated food is handed over by you |
Notice the pattern: every one of these states lets you advertise, and most let you take the order online. Delivery is where they part ways. Plan for meet-ups or home delivery unless your state clearly allows shipping.
Cottage Food Law →Do you need a permit to sell food on Facebook?
Meta asks for no food permit. Your state might. Texas requires no permit for most cottage foods and only asks you to register with DSHS for foods that need refrigeration. Washington wants its WSDA permit in hand before you sell anything, however you advertise. New Jersey issues a cottage food permit too, and Mississippi asks for none as long as you stay under its $35,000 yearly cap.
Cottage Food Permit →Your label, on the bag and in the listing
Some states want the label in the listing as well as on the package. Texas wants the full label information posted on the seller's website before any payment changes hands. Oklahoma puts the label details on the sales page as well, and a printed label on each item or in the box it ships in. Nebraska wants its home-kitchen notice on your website and in any internet ad for pickup or delivery sales, so put it in the listing too.
Write your Marketplace listing like a label: product name, net quantity, ingredients in order of weight, the allergens and your state's statement. Our tool gives you that text from your recipe: ingredients ranked by weight, with what's inside each one in parentheses, plus a Contains line that names the exact tree nut, fish or shellfish. Use the same wording in the listing and on the label you print.
Cottage Food Label Requirements →Start your label free →If you sell as a licensed food business
A licensed kitchen frees you from the cottage food limits, but not from Meta's policies. Alcohol and ingestible supplements stay off Marketplace whatever your license. Your packaged food then carries the full federal label, and most products need a Nutrition Facts panel unless a small business exemption fits.
Nutrition Facts Label Requirements →