Cottage Foods in Ohio: Low-Cost Home Business

Do your friends always ask you to make your incredible brownies? Do you have a top-secret recipe for strawberry-rhubarb jam that draws rave reviews? Turn your cooking skills into extra money with a cottage food business in Ohio.

With an unemployment rate hovering just below 10 percent, many Ohioans are looking for ways to create a living from home or a second income. Ohio's cottage food laws provide a great source of income for anyone who loves to bake. Navigating the Ohio Department of Agriculture's website can be daunting, but I have several years of experience as cottage food vendor.

When I began my journey into the cottage food industry, I had many questions. Some of the scientific terms used in the ODA cottage food laws were confusing and I called for clarification about labels and weights. This is a quick guide to understanding Ohio's cottage food laws. For more specific questions, the Ohio Department of Agriculture can be reached at 614-728-6201.

Do I need any special equipment to open a cottage food business?
Any home kitchen is eligible to be a cottage food facility. The only equipment required that many home kitchens don't have is a food scale. It doesn't have to be a huge scale found in grocery bakeries or delis but a digital scale is best for continued accuracy. My digital kitchen scale gives the weights in both English and metric measurements, a requirement for labeling.

What kind of inspection is required for a cottage food business?
There are no inspections required to become a cottage food business. One of the labeling requirements is the inclusion of this statement on every package: "This Product is Home Produced" in 10-point type. The use of this phrase indicates that the food was made in a kitchen that is not inspected.

I make a great salsa - can I sell that as a cottage food business?
No. The list of approved cottage food items in Ohio is very specific and absolute. While there is a wide-range of approved products, home-canned products is limited to jellies, fruit butters and jams.

Items such as salsa, pickles, barbecue sauce and canned vegetables must be produced in a licensed cannery facility. According to Ohio law, a home kitchen can not be approved as a cannery.

What kind of items can I sell as a cottage food business?
In addition to jellies and jams, any baked product that does not require refrigeration can be made in a cottage food production facility in Ohio. This does not include cheesecake, cream or custard pies or any frostings made with cream cheese.

Other acceptable products include candy, flavored popcorn, granola, herbs and mixes. For a complete list of allowable products, visit the Ohio Department of Agriculture website here.

Where can I sell my cottage food products?
A cottage food vendor can sell any of their products anywhere within the state of Ohio. During my years as a vendor, I sold my products at farmers markets and craft shows as well as via special order. One year, we had a weekly bread delivery route.

Some retail locations, such as the Delaware County Community Market, will sell cottage food products.

Great Ohio cooks can build a loyal following - and a healthy bank account - by becoming a cottage food vendor.

Sources: Ohio Department of Agriculture ; Economy Improving? Self-Employed Disagrees