What Can I Make?

Allowable Food Products List

What Can I Make?

The rules under Michigan's Food Law were developed to protect the health and safety of Michigan citizens and to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Foods allowed for sale under the Cottage Food Law are allowed based on their relatively low risk for foodborne illness. Cottage food producers can help reduce the risk of foodborne illness even further by following safe food handling and storage practices and maintaining good hygiene in their home kitchens. Proper labeling is also important, especially for people who may be allergic to certain ingredients.

What are the requirements for Cottage Foods?

Certain non-potentially hazardous foods (time and/or temperature controls not required to assure food safety—meaning foods that can safely be kept at room temperature and do not require refrigeration) meet the requirements for cottage foods and can be prepared in a home kitchen and sold directly to consumers without a license. Many of these items are identified by MDARD.

You may use the search bar to find specific foods or browse by category below.

Approved Cottage Food Products

Fruits

Allowed:	Not allowed:
Whole and sliced dehydrated fruits. Fruit "chips" are permitted under the Cottage Food Law. The dehydrated fruits must be shelf stable and must be packaged and labeled for sale according to the Cottage Food Law requirements.	No canned fruits or vegetables like salsa or canned peaches No canned fruits or vegetable butters like pumpkin or apple butter No cut melons

Not allowed:

No canned pickled products like corn relish, pickles, or sauerkraut

No pickled fruits or vegetables, such as beets, cocktail onions, or cherry peppers

No fruit or vegetable salsas

Pickled and acidified foods pose a risk of botulism

Vegetables

Allowed:	Not Allowed:
Whole and sliced dehydrated vegetables except cut tomatoes, cut leafy greens, or sprouts Vegetable or herb "chips", such as kale or root vegetable chips Cultivated or wild foraged mushrooms that are raw or dried. You must be able to provide proof that wild foraged mushrooms were identified by a certified mushroom expert. For more information, visit MDARD's wild foraged mushrooms page.	No cut tomatoes or chopped/shredded leafy greens No food products made with cooked vegetable products No raw seed sprouts

Baked Goods

Allowed:

Not Allowed:

Baked goods, cookies
Cakes, including celebration cakes (birthday, anniversary, wedding, cupcakes)
Pies that are shelf stable
Cooked fruit pies, including pie crusts made with butter, lard, or shortening
Breads
Quick breads and muffins (e.g., pumpkin or zucchini bread, blueberry muffins)
Breads with shredded hard cheeses incorporated into the dough prior to baking
Breads with herbs, spices, nuts, or finely chopped and dried or freeze-dried vegetables and/or fruits incorporated into the dough prior to baking
Jalapeno cheddar bread that is made with shredded hard cheese, incorporated into the dough. Jalapenos must be chopped or pulverized and dried, freeze-dried, or commercially pickled and patted dry prior to being incorporated into the raw dough

No pies or cakes that require refrigeration to assure safety like banana cream, pumpkin, lemon meringue or custard pies; cheesecake; and cakes with glaze or frosting that requires refrigeration (e.g., cream cheese frosting)
No breads with fresh or frozen vegetables added
No breads with soft cheese or large chunks of hard cheeses

Condiments

Allowed:	Not Allowed:
Yes: Peanut butter, almond butter, or other nut butters. Peanut butter made from ground peanuts or other similar nut butters are allowed.	No sauces and condiments, including barbeque sauce, hot sauce, ketchup, or mustard No salad dressings No salsas, tomato sauces, spaghetti sauces PHF/TCS Faq info No apple butter, pumpkin butter, or other fruit butters No Hummus

Not allowed:

No kombucha tea: Under the Michigan Food Law, you must be licensed to sell fermented foods and beverages, the production of which is considered a specialized process.

No fermented green olives subjected to processes (such as lye treatment or washing with low-acid foods) that raise the pH above 4.6, with subsequent addition of acid or acid foods to reduce the pH to 4.6 or below

Vinegars and Oils

Not allowed:

No beverages, including fruit/vegetable juices, Kombucha tea, and apple cider. Beverages are not allowed to be produced under the Cottage Food Law.

Candy and Confections

Allowed:	Not Allowed:
Confections and candies (made without alcohol) Cotton Candy Chocolate-covered pretzels, marshmallows, graham crackers, Rice Krispies treats, strawberries, pineapple, bananas, or other non-Temperature Controlled for Safety Foods Coated or uncoated nuts Hard candies, lollipops, and peppermint candies Maple candy Freeze-dried candy	No caramel apples No confections that contain alcohol, like truffles or liqueur-filled chocolates. (You can make and sell confections that use flavoring, flavoring extract (e.g., rum flavoring or lemon flavoring), but not actual alcoholic beverages (e.g., rum extract, rum, sparkling wine/Champagne, Grand Marnier, Chambord, etc.)

Dried, Dehydrated, and Freeze-Dried Products

Allowed:

Not Allowed:

Granola
Dry herbs and dry herb mixtures
Dry baking mixes
Dry dip mixes
Dry soup mixes
Dehydrated vegetables or fruits
Dried pasta made with or without eggs
Dry bread or 'instant' bread mixes
Dried herbal teas that are labeled and advertised to be consumed as a conventional food, with no health claims
Non-potentially hazardous dry bulk mixes sold wholesale can be repackaged into a Cottage Food product. Similar items already packaged and labeled for retail sale cannot be repackaged and/or relabeled.
Freeze-drying of some non-Potentially Hazardous Foods or non-Temperature Controlled for Safety Foods foods like candies or raw fruits is allowable under the cottage food law if the freeze-drying is conducted in a commercial freeze dryer to completion. ( may not freeze cut melon or cut tomatoes)

No tinctures, herbal teas with dosing instructions or advertised with health claims. These are not considered conventional foods and may be required to be licensed and regulated as a Dietary Supplement.

Not Allowed:

No ice or ice products

No Potentially Hazardous Foods or Temperature Controlled for Safety Foods such as ice cream, meat, cooked vegetables

No freeze-drying of foods that require special processing for safety, such as commercially prepared pickles, salad dressings, juices, beans, etc. These are not allowed as a Cottage Food.

Icing and Frosting

Allowed:

Not Allowed:

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has reviewed and approved the two below recipes if they are followed exactly with no changes in proportions of ingredients, additions, or subtractions:

K-State Extension's (Kansas State University) Simple Buttercream recipe available free for download
American Buttercream recipe from Come and Bake It: Original Edition, available for purchase.

No other buttercream frostings. Other Buttercream recipes in Come and Bake It: Original Edition, in other recipe books, or online sources have not been reviewed or approved for use.

Jams and Jellies

Allowed:

Not Allowed:

Fruit jams and jellies (as defined in 21 Code of Federal Regulations part 150) in glass jars that can be stored at room temperature.

No vegetable jams/jellies (e.g., hot pepper jelly)
No low-sugar or no-sugar jams or jellies
No other non-fruit based jams/jellies
No fruit or vegetable butters

Not allowed due to increased risk of botulism

Not Allowed:

No meat and meat products like fresh and dried meats (jerky)

No fish and fish products like smoked fish

No dehydrated meats. Meats are a Potentially Hazardous Food/Temperature Controlled for Safety (PHF/TCS) food and are not allowed under the Cottage Food Law exemptions.

Other Products

Allowed:	Not Allowed:
Popcorn is allowed Roasted coffee beans or ground roasted coffee are allowed Extracts that are used for flavoring foods, like vanilla extract (and other extracts of foods that do not require temperature control for safety) are allowed	No milk and dairy products like cheese or yogurt No fresh pastas No CBD, cannabis, or foods with these products No dietary supplements as a tincture, syrup, tea, capsule, powder, or any other form that require a license to produce and/or sell No pet food or treats. A commercial feed license is required to make in a home kitchen.

Honey and maple syrup are not considered cottage foods, because the regulatory requirements and exemptions have some significant differences. They do, however, have their own set of licensing exemptions under the law. Please see the Michigan Maple Syrup and Honey Licensing Exemptions for more information.

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Allowable Food Products List

Approved Cottage Food Products

Allowed:	Not allowed:
Vinegar and flavored vinegars	No garlic in oil mixtures