Cottage Foods Tier 1 Training, Test, Application Zoominar

This 2-hour training is offered monthly year-round. It covers the legal requirements; food safety issues; completing the required MDA training, test, and submitting your application.

MFMA's Tier 1 Cottage Foods Training Slides.

Click here to sign up for the Cottage Food Safety News from UMN Extension.

UMN Extension's 2025 Food Safety Series

Join other Minnesota cottage foods producers and farmers' market managers to ask Extension educators about food safety, safe food handling practices, and questions about allowable and not allowable foods.

The first 15 - 20 minutes will be on a topic of the month, the remaining time will be devoted to your questions. Want to submit a question in advance? email exfdsafe@umn.edu.

The Monday sessions are from 5-6pm, the Tuesday sessions are 11:30am-12:30pm.

• Monday, June 9, 5pm
• Tuesday, July 8, 11:30am
• Monday, August 11, 5pm
• Tuesday, September 9, 11:30am
• Monday, October 13, 5pm
• Tuesday, November 11, 11:30am
• Monday, December 8, 5pm

UMN Extension produced a number of food safety zoominars in 2024, covering food safety foundations, as well as 8 specific topics ranging from freeze drying to making juice to canning pickles. Check out those 1-hour videos here.

FOOD SAFETY FOUNDATION VIDEOS

1. What is foodborne illness? (video)
2. Factors that influence pathogen growth.  (video)
3. Cleaning & sanitation best practices. (video)

1. Getting prepared to preserve: supplies & utensils you need (Video)
2. Preserves: jams, jellies, spreads (Video)
3. Safely pickling produce (Video)
4. Canning acidic foods: boiling water or atmospheric steam canning (Video)
5. Making & selling juice (Video)
6. Canning low-acid foods: pressure canning (Video)
7. Drying, dehydrating, freeze-drying produce (Video)
8. Cottage foods: selling high-moisture foods (Video)

Resources for cottage food producers

• Cake Cost app. Easy to use online recipe costing calculator for home bakers and cake decorators. Free version.

SALES TAX

• Sales Tax on Certain Foods
  

  Sales tax on foods in Minnesota is complicated. For example, jams & jellies sold at grocery stores are not taxed BUT jams & jellies sold at a farmers' market are taxed; salsa is taxed but spaghetti sauce is not taxed. Key to note is that MDOR defines food terms differently than either MDA or MDH. 

  • Flowchart of Prepared Foods - MDOR
  • FS102D.pdf Defines terms, lists example prepared foods and if they are taxed.
• • FS102A.pdf Defines 'food and food ingredients' and if they are taxed. 
  • Guidance List on Taxable & Nontaxable Cottage Foods

If you do need to collect sales tax on your cottage foods, click here to start the process with the MN Dept. of Revenue.

Once you are a registered CFP, be sure to join the MN Registered Cottage Food Producers Group on Facebook. Super supportive group!

FOOD SAFETY SECTION

• FOOD SCIENCE LIBRARY - find answers to many of the food science answers behind decisions impacting cottage foods
• Food Safety Checklist
• Food Testing Labs List
• Food Testing Log

• Hemp and Cannabis Guidance

• Legal Labels
• Look Up Your CFP Registration at MDA
• Master Non-Potentially Hazardous Foods Guidance List - Human Food
• Master Non-Potentially Hazardous Foods Guidance List - Pet Treats

• Safe Food Sampling

  • Safe Food Sampling Law
    
  • Required Handwashing Station
    
  • Worksheet
• Tested Recipes List

Register with the Minnesota Department of Agriculture

Go here to register with the MDA. This is the same link you use to renew your cottage foods producers registration every year. By law, your CFP registration is valid in 30 days or less if submitted correctly to MDA.

Your certificate will be mailed; you can also look for your registration on MDA's 'license lookup' webpage. 

Check out this NPH Foods List to see the 1000s of foods that qualify as cottage foods under Minnesota's Cottage Foods Law.

Testing Your Foods

The cottage foods law, M.S. 28A.152, requires that you sell cottage foods that meet one of two parameters: either 4.6 or below for pH; or .85 or below for water activity. When you use the 'tested & approved' recipes mentioned in our Master Non-Potentially Hazardous Foods Guidance List, you do not need to test your cottage foods for either pH or water activity. 

But if you're experimenting with recipes or want to attempt any of the recipes in the "Exceptions" column in the guidance list, here are some options for you to learn how to test for both pH and water activity. Click either topic below for suggestions on the testing meters that work adequately, as well videos and step-by-step instructions on how to use the meters and record your results. 

Testing cottage foods for pH

 

Testing cottage foods for Aw