Selling jam in Utah: cottage food permit or food freedom?
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Yes, by either of two routes, and the choice matters for jam more than for most foods. Utah's Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act lets you sell homemade jam with no state license or inspection, directly to an informed buyer in Utah [1] [2]. The separate cottage food program, run by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF), requires registration and a kitchen inspection and accepts only jams, jellies and preserves made from the fruits in the federal standard, 21 CFR 150; it does not accept fruit butter or sugar-free jam [3] [4]. Most home jam makers selling at markets or from home will start under food freedom.
The two routes side by side
| Food freedom (Homemade Food Act) | UDAF cottage food registration | |
|---|---|---|
| License or inspection | None from the state; you still need any local business license [2] | Registration as a food establishment, a pre-operational inspection and a fee under Rule R70-540 (amount not shown) [4] [5] |
| Training | None stated in the act [2] | Every person in the operation holds a valid food handler permit [4] |
| What you submit | Nothing | Recipes with ingredients, amounts and steps for each product, and sample labels meeting 21 CFR 101 [4] |
| Which jams | Not limited by fruit or sugar in the act; the act's exclusions are in Section 4-5a-105, not reviewed for this page [1] [2] | Only fruits described in 21 CFR 150, "except for tomatoes"; no fruit butter; no sugar-free or no-sugar-added jams or jellies [3] |
| Pepper jelly | Not addressed | Out: "Acidified vegetables (such as jalapeno peppers) must be commercially manufactured" [3] |
| Who may buy | An informed final consumer, for personal or home consumption, in Utah [2] | Not confirmed for this page; ask UDAF |
| Kitchen rules | None set by the state | Pets excluded from the kitchen during preparation [4] |
Two practical consequences follow. A Utah cottage registration does not cover tomato jam, apple butter, a sugar-free strawberry spread or pepper jelly at all [3]. And the food freedom route, which might, gives you no state review of your recipe, so the safety of each jar rests on your process. Use tested recipes, and see preserves cottage food laws often exclude for why these products sit at the edge. On either route, handle pepper jelly as an acidified food until a process authority says otherwise.
Selling under food freedom
The act, as amended effective May 6, 2026, exempts homemade food from state, county and city licensing, permitting, inspection, packaging and labeling rules if it is produced and sold in Utah, sold directly to an informed final consumer, and bought for personal or home consumption [2]. The 2026 change lets you or a designated representative sell, deliver, hold and store the food at a "direct-to-sale location," a term the section does not define; you keep ownership of food your representative handles unless you agree otherwise [2]. UDAF's undated guidance still describes in-person sales only, so treat delivery through a representative as new and confirm the details with UDAF.
What you may not do: sell to, or supply, "a restaurant or commercial establishment" (raw, unprocessed fruit is the exception) [2]. Shops, cafes and wholesale accounts are therefore out under this route, and every jar must say it is not for resale.
What the food freedom label says
The act requires the producer's name and address; a statement that the product is not for resale and was processed and prepared without state or local inspection; and a statement of whether the food contains, or was made where the kitchen handles, common allergens [2]. UDAF's sample label prints the two key phrases as "PROCESSED AND PREPARED WITHOUT STATE OR LOCAL INSPECTION" and "NOT FOR RESALE" [6]. You must also tell the buyer the food is not certified, licensed, regulated or inspected by the state, a county or a city [2]. Federal elements such as the product name and net weight are on what a jam label must say. If you name a low-sugar spread, follow what you can call your jam.
When the cottage registration is worth it
The registration costs time: an inspection, food handler permits and recipe and label review [4] [5]. In return you get a state-registered operation and a label UDAF has reviewed. Whether it opens channels food freedom does not, such as retail stores, was not confirmed from UDAF's documents reviewed for this page. Ask before you apply. For products the cottage list excludes, the path is a licensed kitchen; see when you need a licensed kitchen.
UDAF documents to read first
The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food administers both routes. Its List of Permitted Cottage Food Products [3] and Cottage Food Application [4] are the documents to read first; no UDAF web page on the food freedom act was located, so its labeling guidelines PDF [6] is the agency's own statement of that route.
Last checked in October 2026. The federal label elements that apply on either route are on what a jam label must say.
References
- Utah Legislature, HB 181 (2018) Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act, enrolled, 2018. https://le.utah.gov/~2018/bills/hbillenr/HB0181.htm
- Utah Legislature, Utah Code 4-5a-104, effective May 6, 2026. https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title4/Chapter5a/C4-5a-S104_2026050620260506.html
- Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, List of Permitted Cottage Food Products, not dated (viewed October 2026). https://ag.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Permitted-Cottage-Food-Products.pdf
- Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, Cottage Food Application (UDAF Form CFA, file Rev. 03/2026), 2026. https://ag.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/UDAF-Form-CFA-Rev.-03_2026.pdf
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, Utah Admin. Code R70-560-5, Inspections, Registration, and Investigations, as amended effective January 12, 2023. https://law.cornell.edu/regulations/utah/Utah-Admin-Code-R70-560-5
- Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, Basic Labeling Guidelines for Home Consumption and Homemade Foods, not dated (viewed October 2026). https://ag.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Basic-Labeling-Guidelines-for-Home-Consumption-and-Homemade-Foods.pdf
