What Counts as Shelf-Stable?
Under Delaware's cottage food regulations (16 Del. Admin. Code § 4458A), every product you sell must be non-potentially hazardous — meaning it can be stored safely at room temperature without refrigeration. The state uses two scientific measurements to determine whether a food qualifies.
Measured at 75°F (24°C). Foods at or below pH 4.6 are acidic enough to prevent the growth of dangerous bacteria like Clostridium botulinum. Most jams, jellies, and fruit preserves fall in this range naturally due to their fruit acid and sugar content.
Water activity measures how much moisture is available for bacterial growth, on a scale of 0 to 1.0. Baked goods, candies, dried foods, and sugar-preserved items typically have low water activity because moisture is bound up by sugar, salt, or the drying process.
Your product only needs to meet one of these two thresholds to qualify — pH of 4.6 or below, or water activity of 0.85 or below. Most traditional cottage food products (cookies, breads, brownies, fudge, jams) easily meet at least one of these benchmarks without any special processing.
The Delaware Division of Public Health may require you to submit products for pH or water activity testing if the safety classification of your product is uncertain. This is especially common for jams, preserves, fruit butters, and any products where acidity can vary batch to batch. It's a good practice to test your recipes proactively — food science labs and university extension programs can perform these tests for a modest fee.
Common Shelf-Stable Categories
Here's how the most popular cottage food categories relate to these food safety thresholds:
- Baked goods (cookies, breads, brownies, cakes, muffins) — Low water activity due to baking; easily qualifies
- Candies and confections (fudge, hard candy, brittles, chocolates) — Very low water activity from high sugar content
- Jams, jellies, and preserves — Low pH from fruit acids plus low water activity from sugar concentration; may need testing
- Dry goods (granola, trail mix, spice blends) — Extremely low water activity; clearly shelf-stable
- Popcorn and roasted nuts — Low moisture content; qualifies easily
Annual Sales Limit
As of December 2023 (27 DE Reg. 432), Delaware removed the $25,000 annual revenue cap for Cottage Food Establishments. There is now no limit on how much you can earn selling shelf-stable cottage food products in Delaware. Sell as much as your kitchen and your customers can handle.
If you're a farmer operating under the separate On-Farm Home Processing program (administered by the Delaware Department of Agriculture), your annual sales are capped at $50,000. This is a different program from the general cottage food establishment registration. See the Special Categories page for details.
Even without a sales cap, you're required to maintain records of production dates, lot numbers, and sales dates and locations for every batch — and keep those records for at least three years. Good record-keeping also helps with tax reporting, since your cottage food income is subject to Delaware state income tax and the Gross Receipts Tax.
Where You Can Sell
Delaware's cottage food regulations are strict about sales channels. All sales must be direct-to-consumer, in-person, and within the state of Delaware. Here's the full breakdown:
| Sales Channel | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Farmers markets | Allowed | Must display your CFE registration certificate at your booth |
| Craft fairs & community events | Allowed | Charitable functions, festivals, and other approved venues |
| From your home | Allowed | Direct, in-person pickup by the consumer |
| Personal delivery within Delaware | Allowed | You or a designee may deliver directly to the consumer |
| Online advertising | Conditional | You may advertise and take orders online, but the actual transaction and delivery must happen in person |
| Online sales / e-commerce | Not Allowed | No online payment processing or digital transactions |
| Shipping / mail order | Not Allowed | No shipping of any kind — all delivery must be in-person within Delaware |
| Wholesale to stores / restaurants | Not Allowed | Cannot sell to retailers, restaurants, or other food establishments for resale |
| Interstate sales | Not Allowed | All sales and delivery must remain within Delaware's borders |
Delaware is one of the strictest states when it comes to sales channels. Unlike some neighboring states, Delaware does not allow any form of online sales, shipping, or wholesale. Every transaction must be a face-to-face, person-to-person exchange within the state. Plan your business around direct-to-consumer venues like farmers markets and local events.
Storage & Handling Requirements
Delaware's cottage food regulations include specific requirements for how you store, handle, and package your products:
Kitchen & Processing Area
Your home kitchen must be the designated processing area, and it must be detailed in the floor plans you submit with your registration application. The floor plan must identify all appliances, food contact surfaces, refrigeration areas, dry good storage areas, and restroom facilities. Your kitchen will be subject to a pre-operational inspection by the Division of Public Health before you can begin selling.
Separation of Activities
When you're producing cottage food products, no other cooking activities (such as preparing a family meal) may occur simultaneously in the same kitchen. This separation requirement exists to prevent cross-contamination. Pets and animals must be kept out of the processing area at all times during production.
Packaging
All packaging materials must be food-grade quality. Every product must be individually packaged and labeled with all required information before sale. See the Label Requirements page for the complete list of mandatory label elements.
Record-Keeping
You must maintain detailed records for every batch of product, including the date of production, lot number, and the date and location of each sale. These records must be retained for a minimum of three years and made available to the Division of Public Health upon request.
Recall Plan
Delaware requires every cottage food establishment to prepare and maintain a written contingency plan for product recalls. This means you need a documented process for how you would notify customers, retrieve products, and handle refunds in the event of a food safety issue — for example, if an ingredient you used is recalled by the manufacturer.
If your home uses a private water supply (well), you must provide water testing results demonstrating the supply is safe. If you have a private sewage system (septic), you must provide verification from the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. Both tests must occur within 60 days of the date on your registration application. Homes served by public water and sewer systems do not require further evaluation.
Sales Tracker
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