Retail Residential Kitchens and Wholesale Residential Kitchens
Massachusetts has no separate cottage food statute. Home food businesses fall under the food regulations of the Department of Public Health, and DPH sorts them by how they sell.
| Type | Retail Residential Kitchen | Wholesale Residential Kitchen |
|---|---|---|
| Sells to | Consumers directly | Stores, restaurants and others that resell |
| Who inspects and permits | Your local board of health | DPH Food Protection Program |
| Rules | Retail Food Code, 105 CMR 590 | Good Manufacturing Practices, 105 CMR 500 |
| Permitted as | Cottage Food Operation | Wholesale license or permit |
Which foods you can make
Only cottage food products: foods that are safe at room temperature, including baked goods, jams and jellies. You may cook with milk, cream and eggs from approved sources, as long as the finished product doesn't need temperature control.
DPH names these as foods a residential kitchen may not prepare or sell:
- Cream-filled pastries, cheesecake and custard
- Cut fruit and vegetables
- Tomato and barbeque sauce
- Pickled products and relishes
- Salad dressings
- Raw or cooked meat and fish
Some processes are off limits too: acidification, hot fill, thermal processing in hermetically sealed containers, vacuum packaging, and curing or smoking. The one exception is jams and jellies processed in sealed jars.
Where and how you can sell
| Way of selling | What you need |
|---|---|
| Farmers markets and craft fairs | Retail permit from your board of health |
| Online orders and mail | Retail permit from your board of health |
| Supermarkets, coffee shops, restaurants | Wholesale license from DPH |
| Customers in other states | Check federal law and that state's law |
| Religious or charitable bake sales | No permit, with a placard |
For a bake sale, the food can't need temperature control, and a clearly visible placard tells buyers it was made in a kitchen not subject to regulation and inspection. Donating food to a nonprofit that gives it away, or charges only enough to cover handling, needs no permit either.
Kitchen rules for a permitted home kitchen
Your board of health checks these minimum standards from DPH, on top of local zoning and any other town rules:
- Potable water; a private well is tested before the permit and at least once a year after
- Soap and paper towels at the kitchen sink, plus a sink in the toilet room
- A home dishwasher is fine if it reaches 150°F after the final rinse and drying cycle
- No food business in rooms used for living or sleeping
- No infants or small children in the kitchen while you prepare or package food
- Pets kept out of the kitchen during food preparation
- No family meals, laundry or guests in the kitchen while you work
- No bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food, and no working while ill
When a product's room-temperature safety is in doubt, expect a request for lab tests like pH or water activity. One standard recipe per product keeps those tests to a minimum.
Who needs no permit
A cottage food operation, on a farm or off it, needs no board of health permit when all it sells is:
- Whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables
- Unprocessed honey
- Pure maple products
- Farm fresh eggs kept at 45°F or below
When you outgrow the home kitchen
Want to sell to stores? Apply for the DPH wholesale license and keep to room-temperature foods. Want to make sauces, pickles or refrigerated desserts? That means a licensed commercial kitchen, where the federal label rules apply in full: net quantity in two units, the ingredient list, allergens, your business name and place, and usually Nutrition Facts.
FDA Food Labeling Requirements →