Who the Delaware cottage food rules cover
Delaware calls a home food business a Cottage Food Establishment, or CFE. You make the food in a "home-style kitchen": a residential kitchen in your permanent, primary residence. The rules come from the Division of Public Health in 16 DE Admin. Code 4458A.
Bake sales and private events open only to members don't need a registration. A business that already holds a Delaware food establishment license works under the Food Code instead.
Which foods you can make
Only foods that don't need time and temperature control for safety, and only items on the Division's approved list. Every product you plan to sell is named on your registration.
- Breads and rolls
- Cakes and cookies
- Muffins and brownies
- Fruit pies and pastries
- Jams, jellies and fruit preserves
- Fudge and chocolates
- Hard candy, lollipops, rock candy
- No baked goods with cream filling, meat or other parts that need refrigeration
- No products containing cannabis, THC or CBD
- No foods missing from the approved list
Where and how you can sell
| Way of selling | Allowed? |
|---|---|
| Farmers markets, craft fairs, charity events | Yes, with your registration on display |
| Other venues the Division approves | Yes |
| Advertising and marketing online | Yes |
| Taking online sales | No |
| Wholesale, resellers, stores or restaurants | No |
| Customers outside Delaware | No, direct sales stay in the state |
Bring your registration certificate to every market and event. Keep records for each batch: what you made, when, the lot number, and where and when you sold it. Hold on to them for three years.
How to register your home kitchen
Your application to the Division of Public Health includes:
The Division may inspect your kitchen before you open, and again after a complaint or a reported illness. Once everything checks out, you're added to the Delaware State Registry of Cottage Food Establishments and can start selling. A new owner means a new application.
The Division is revising the regulation. The proposed text calls your registration a permit and keeps the $30 fee and the label rules the same.
Rules for your kitchen
- No pets in the kitchen while you prepare, package or handle cottage food
- No carpet in food prep or dry storage areas
- A thermometer in the fridge, which holds 41°F or below
- Clean, sanitized surfaces, equipment and utensils
- A written recall plan and lot coding for your products
- Easy access to a restroom with running water, soap and paper towels
The farm kitchen route: On-Farm Home Processing
Own a farm? The Department of Agriculture runs a separate permit for food made in the farmhouse kitchen. You complete the University of Delaware on-farm food safety training or ServSafe, pass a kitchen inspection and pay $25 a year.
| Rule | On-Farm Home Processing |
|---|---|
| Foods | Low-moisture breads, cakes, muffins and cookies, non-chocolate candy, jams and jellies, fruit pies, herb vinegars, honey and herb mixes, dried fruit, spices, maple syrup, popcorn, roasted nuts |
| Where you sell | Farmers markets, roadside stands and your own farm |
| Sales limit | $50,000 of on-farm home processed foods |
| Label statement | This product is home-produced and processed (10-point type) |
When you outgrow cottage food
Selling online, wholesale or through stores is outside both programs. That takes a licensed food establishment, and then the federal label rules apply in full, usually with a Nutrition Facts panel.
FDA Food Labeling Requirements →