From cottage food rule to Direct-to-Consumer Commerce Act
Idaho used to handle home food sales through a cottage food rule in the Idaho Food Code (IDAPA 16.02.19). Senate Bill 1283 replaced it with a law of its own: the Idaho Direct-to-Consumer Commerce Act, Chapter 2 of Title 37 of the Idaho Code. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) confirms the new Act replaces and supersedes the old rule.
Homemade means grown, prepared or processed at a private or leased farm, a home kitchen or another non-licensed facility. It does not cover food cooked or served on site for immediate eating, like restaurant-style service, food trucks or concession trailers.
Shelf-stable and perishable foods
The Act sorts homemade food into two groups and allows both. Perishable food simply needs more care and handling instructions.
| Shelf-stable (no temperature control) | Perishable (41°F or below, or 135°F or above) |
|---|---|
| Hermetically sealed butters, jams, jellies and syrups | Regular and sugar-free butters, jams, jellies and syrups |
| Fermented foods | Pickled products |
| Baked goods without perishable frosting or filling | Baked goods with frosting or filling made from animal products |
| Candies and chocolates that need no refrigeration | Condiments and sauces |
| Granola, nut mixes, popcorn and dry soup mixes | Raw doughs, fresh and dehydrated pastas |
| Roasted coffee beans and honey | Cooked vegetables |
| Fruit leathers, pies and turnovers | Drinks like coffee, lemonade, tea and soda |
| Dried, dehydrated and freeze-dried foods | Eggs and egg products |
Meat is the big exception. Sales under the Act may not involve meat or meat products, except:
- Poultry of your own raising, up to 1,000 birds a year, if you buy and sell no other poultry
- Live animals, and portions of live animals sold before slaughter (animal shares)
- Domestic rabbit meat
- Farm-raised fish, except catfish
- Beef, lamb, pork and goat meat inspected by the USDA or another approved inspector
Milk and dairy products, and products derived from them, still have to meet Idaho's dairy laws, and raw milk its own chapter of the Idaho Code. The Act doesn't relax those, so check dairy-based items like cheesecake with your local public health district first.
Where and how you can sell
Every sale is between you, or your designated agent, and an informed end consumer: someone who knowingly buys a product sold under the Act, is the final buyer, and may not resell it. All production, processing, packaging, sale and delivery takes place inside Idaho.
| Way of selling | Allowed? |
|---|---|
| From your home, farm, ranch or farm stand | Yes |
| Direct to the consumer elsewhere in Idaho | Yes |
| Through a designated agent, like a cooperative or consignment market | Yes, named in writing, and it never owns the food |
| Delivery to Idaho buyers | Yes |
| Shipping or selling to other states | No |
| Wholesale, or as an ingredient in a restaurant or school kitchen | No |
A designated agent can be a person, a cooperative market or a consignment-model market that markets, stores, transports, sells or delivers for you. A retail space that carries your products next to other food must keep them physically apart, down to separate shelves in coolers and freezers, with signs that show which area holds products sold under the Act.
No license, but a few duties
- Give every buyer the inspection notice, your name and contact details, and the ingredients, on a sign, a label or a card.
- Make, store, move and sell perishable food under conditions meant to keep it safe, and add handling instructions.
- Keep records of each sale for at least 2 years.
- Get familiar with the food safety material DHW publishes for producers.
Your records are confidential. They only go to a state agency or health district during a confirmed foodborne illness investigation, and the Act requires no routine reporting or inspection. If an investigation finds you kept no records, the fine can be up to $500.
When you outgrow the Idaho Direct-to-Consumer Commerce Act
DHW says wholesale operations are not exempt, and selling outside Idaho may need FDA approval. Supplying stores and restaurants or shipping to other states means a licensed food business, contact with your local public health district, and a full federal label with ingredients, net quantity and usually a Nutrition Facts panel.
FDA Food Labeling Requirements →