For food entrepreneurs

The following are resources to help keep food safe for people who make and sell baked goods, canned goods or other foods or who process produce they grow on their own farm or garden. 

Safe food sampling

Learn how to provide safe food samples and comply with the Safe Food Sampling law. Find videos, checklists and other resources.

Cottage foods

Do you make and sell home-baked goods, home-canned pickles, salsa, jam or jelly? Be sure you sell a safe product.

• Cottage food producer food safety training - Tier 2 training for producers with $7,665 to $78,000 in annual sales.
• Cottage food resources spreadsheet - also available as a PDF
• Canning and pH testing record for cottage food producers
• Follow this checklist to produce a safe and legal cottage food product
• Using freeze-dried ingredients in cottage food
• When can you use fresh, cut fruit in cottage food products?
• The Minnesota Farmers' Market Association offers free online Tier 1 cottage food training for producers with less than $7,665 in annual sales.

Product of the farm or garden

"Product of the farm” is a licensing exclusion in the state of Minnesota for people who sell products that they grow or raise in a farm or garden that is occupied and cultivated by them with no ingredients added that they do not grow or produce themselves.

• Finding a food processing space - People selling food as "Product of the farm or garden" do not need a license but must process their food products in an "adequately equipped" kitchen.
• Good Manufacturing Practices for processing produce - Specifically addresses "product of the farm" processing, but is useful to other food processors as well.
• Processing produce for "product of the farm" - Find out what is and is not allowed.

Cleaning, sanitizing and preventing illness

• Listeria and candied and caramel-coated apples
• Norovirus: step-by-step clean up of vomit and diarrhea

Resources

• Food Safety for Food Entrepreneurs - Iowa State University Extension Store. A series for food entrepreneurs about best practices related to food safety, food labeling, and cleaning and sanitation of food contact surfaces. Free to download.