Cottage food and jam
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Why fruit preserves are usually in
Almost every state exemption includes high-acid fruit preserves, and the reasoning is consistent even where the lists differ. A shelf-stable high-acid product made to a published method is about as low-risk as home production gets, which is why it is the product most exemptions were written around.
They are high-acid, and the sugar concentration leaves too little free water for spoilage organisms. A correctly made fruit jam is shelf stable by its chemistry rather than by refrigeration, which is exactly the property these laws are written around.
The three exclusions that catch people
The exclusions are where the trouble is, and all three catch people who are making something they think of as jam. Each one moves the product into a different regime rather than simply forbidding it.
| Product | Status under the Michigan law | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit jam or jelly, correctly processed | Allowed | High acid, and the sugar does the preserving |
| Freezer jam, needing refrigeration | Not allowed | It is not shelf stable |
| Hot pepper jelly, vegetable jelly | Not allowed | Low acid, and the botulism risk that comes with it |
The pepper jelly trap
A pepper jelly reads like a jam and is regulated like a low-acid food. If that is the product you want to make, it is a different business with a different regime, and the acidified-foods question is on measuring pH.
Sales caps
Every state with an exemption has a ceiling and they are not comparable with each other. What counts towards it varies as much as the number does, so a cap that sounds generous in one state can be the tighter of two once you know what it counts.
Most of these laws cap annual sales. Michigan's figure is 25,000 dollars gross per household, with a different figure for honey and maple syrup. Yours will differ, and it is the number that decides when you stop being a cottage producer and start needing a licensed kitchen.