Selling homemade food in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's Limited Food Establishment program has no sales cap and is unusually generous about sales channels - online sales and in-state wholesale are both allowed, and even interstate shipping is possible once you separately register with the FDA. It is not fee-free, though: registering requires a plan review, water/zoning documentation, a compliance inspection, and a $35 fee at initial registration and again every year.
You can sell
- Baked goods (non-refrigerated: breads, cakes, cookies, pies, pastries)
- Jams, jellies, fruit butters
- Acidified/canned foods with pH 4.6 or below (e.g. salsa, hot sauce, vinegar-brined vegetables)
- Candy (fudge, chocolates, hard candy)
- Dried herbs, dry goods, nut mixes
- Honey, maple syrup
- Vinegars and pH-tested dressings/sauces
You can't sell
- Potentially hazardous foods needing refrigeration (e.g. cheesecake, pumpkin pie, cream/custard pastries, meat- or cheese-filled baked goods)
- Low-acid canned foods/beverages with pH above 4.6 (most soups, gravies, un-pickled vegetables)
- Juice sold wholesale (retail-only juice is allowed with pH testing)
Where you can sell
- Direct to consumer from the production site
- Farmers markets and events (separate Retail Food License needed for the market/event site)
- Online sales
- Wholesale, in-state
- Out-of-state ('interstate') sales, including online orders shipped out of state, once separate FDA food facility registration is obtained
Selling online
Online sales are allowed under the base LFE registration. Selling interstate - including shipping online orders across state lines - additionally requires FDA food facility registration and nutritional labeling; most small LFE producers qualify for the FDA's small-business nutritional-labeling exemption but must apply for it
What your labels must include
- Product name
- Ingredients listed in descending order by weight
- Allergen declaration if needed
- Name & address of the manufacturer or distributor
- Net weight or unit count (bottom third of the primary panel, minimum 8-point font)
- Bakery items made and sold directly to the consumer by the baker are exempt from on-package labeling, but ingredient info must be available on request
- Nutritional labeling required for goods sold interstate (small-business FDA exemption may apply)