Home and Hearth BakerCottage food product (registered cottage food preparer)
A.R.S. 36-931, 36-932, 36-933 (Title 36, Chapter 8, Article 1, Cottage Food Products); A.R.S. 36-136(I); A.A.C. R9-8-101.01(B)(13) and R9-8-101.02 · HB 2042 (56th Legislature, 2nd Regular Session, 2024), signed 2024-03-29; rules by ADHS final expedited rulemaking, 31 A.A.R. 666, effective 2025-02-04. Earlier cottage food law: HB 2103 (2011), SB 1022 (2018).
No dollar cap. The statute says the preparer may sell cottage food products 'to the maximum extent allowed by federal law' (A.R.S. 36-932(D)(1)).
Cottage food preparer registration (online registry)
Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), Cottage Food Program
Fee: No fee (ADHS calls it a complimentary program with no annual program fees); the food handler course has its own cost
Official page
Food handler training course from an accredited program (ADHS: ANSI accredited); the person preparing or directly supervising must keep the certification active (A.R.S. 36-932(C); R9-8-101.02(A)(1), (A)(4))
Examples you can sell
Food prepared in a home kitchen by or under direct supervision of a registered person, either not potentially hazardous (no time/temperature control needed) or potentially hazardous (A.R.S. 36-931(1)). Home and Hearth Baker covers shelf-stable (non-TCS) foods only. ADHS accepts lab results showing water activity below 0.85 or pH 4.6 or below as proof of shelf stability.
- Most foods are allowed (ADHS), including shelf-stable baked goods such as breads, cookies, cakes and pies that need no refrigeration
- Shelf-stable frostings (ADHS points to a Frosting Alternatives table)
- Jams and jellies made from FDA-tested recipes (ADHS lists them)
- Candy and confections
- Foods made by freeze drying, dehydrating, canning, fermenting or acidifying (ADHS lists these processes as allowed)
Not allowed
- Alcoholic beverages, and foods that are or that contain alcoholic beverages (A.R.S. 36-931(1)(b)); ADHS says alcohol may be an ingredient if the final product is not intended to intoxicate (see open questions)
- Unpasteurized (raw) milk
- Fish and shellfish products
- Meat, meat by-products, poultry or poultry by-products, unless allowed by federal law (own poultry under the 1,000-bird exemption, or meat/poultry from an inspected source)
- Foods with marijuana or marijuana by-products (A.R.S. 36-932(F)(2))
- Ingredients not from sources approved by law (A.R.S. 36-932(G))
The statement your labels must carry
This product was produced in a home kitchen that may come in contact with common food allergens and pet allergens and is not subject to public health inspection. To obtain additional information about cottage foods or to report a foodborne illness, go to azdhs.gov/Cottagefood