South Bend follows Indiana's home-based vendor law (IC 16-42-5.3), letting residents sell non-hazardous homemade foods — baked goods, jams, candies, honey — with no license, no inspection, and no sales cap, as long as products are properly labeled.
Indiana's Home-Based Vendor law (IC 16-42-5.3, effective July 2022 under HEA 1149) governs cottage food in South Bend. Residents may make and sell non-potentially-hazardous foods — items with pH below 4.6 and water activity below 0.85, such as breads, cookies, candies, jams, jellies, honey, and maple syrup — without a permit, inspection, or commercial kitchen. The 2022 law removed the old $2,500 sales cap, so there is no income limit, and vendors may take orders in person, by phone, or online and deliver anywhere in Indiana. Each product must be labeled with the producer, ingredients, and a "not inspected" disclaimer.
Selling prohibited perishable foods, or omitting the required home-produced "not for resale" disclaimer label, can bring enforcement from the state or St. Joseph County Health Department, including orders to stop sales.
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See how South Bend's cottage food operations rules stack up against other locations.
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