Ohio's cottage food law lets you make listed non-hazardous foods (baked goods, jams, jellies, candy, dry mixes) in your home kitchen with no license, registration, or inspection from the Ohio Department of Agriculture or Hamilton County. Products must be properly labeled and sold within Ohio.
A cottage food production operation is defined in ORC 3715.01 as a person who, in the person's home, produces non-potentially-hazardous food items such as bakery products, jams, jellies, candy, and fruit butter specified in OAC 901:3-20. No license, permit, or inspection is required from the Ohio Department of Agriculture or from Hamilton County for these listed foods. Operators may not process acidified foods, low-acid canned foods, or potentially hazardous foods, and products must carry a compliant label and be sold within Ohio. Wholesale to stores and interstate sales are restricted.
Making prohibited (potentially hazardous) foods, selling mislabeled products, or exceeding the cottage-food scope can trigger Ohio Department of Agriculture enforcement, embargo, or a requirement to obtain a full food license.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Hamilton County's cottage food operations rules stack up against other locations.
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