🍪 Shelf-Stable · Page 2 of 8
Shelf-Stable Food in Indiana
No sales cap. No inspection. Sell in person, online, and across Indiana by mail. Here's what makes a food shelf-stable, how the science works, and exactly where your business can grow.
Indiana's Biggest Advantage
No Annual Sales Cap — Ever
Most states cap home food seller revenue at $5,000, $25,000, or $75,000 per year. Indiana has no limit at all. Whether you sell $500 worth of cookies at a farmers market or $50,000 in jams shipped across the state, you operate under the same Home-Based Vendor rules with the same zero-permit, zero-inspection framework. The only moment Indiana's HBV program stops applying is if you want to sell wholesale to a retailer or restaurant — those channels always require a licensed commercial kitchen regardless of revenue.
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Annual sales cap in Indiana
The Foundation
What Makes a Food Shelf-Stable?
Indiana's Home-Based Vendor program is built on a single scientific principle: some foods are inherently stable at room temperature and pose no meaningful pathogen risk without refrigeration. These are your green-light products. Understanding what drives that stability helps you evaluate any new product you want to add to your lineup.
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The TCS Test
A food is shelf-stable under Indiana's HBV rules if it is not a TCS food — not a Time/Temperature Control for Safety food. TCS foods require refrigeration to prevent dangerous bacterial growth. Non-TCS foods don't. Baked goods, dry goods, honey, jams, and hard candy are non-TCS by nature. Cream pies, cooked vegetables, and meat are TCS and prohibited.
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The Room Temperature Rule
A practical way to think about it: can your product sit safely on a kitchen counter for days without becoming a food safety risk? A jar of honey — yes. A bag of cookies — yes. A tray of deviled eggs — absolutely not. If your product would spoil, grow mold hazardously, or become toxic without refrigeration within a reasonable timeframe, it is TCS and not eligible for home-based vendor sale.
The Science, Plainly Explained
Water Activity & pH: The Two Numbers That Matter
Indiana doesn't publish a single universal cutoff for all products, but two measurable properties determine whether a food can support dangerous microbial growth. For most clear-cut products (cookies, jam, honey), you don't need to test — they are obviously non-TCS. Testing matters for borderline products: low-sugar jams, dehydrated fruits, certain ferments, and novel formulations.
0.0 (bone dry)0.85 threshold1.0 (pure water)
Water activity measures how much "free" water is available for microbial growth. It is not the same as moisture content. Honey, for example, has ~17% moisture but a water activity of ~0.6 — too low for pathogens. Cookies, dried fruit, granola, and most baked goods fall well below 0.85. Fresh bread is around 0.96 — safe to eat but it would go moldy over days, not because of pathogens but because of mold competing for that water.
0 (most acidic)4.6 threshold14 (most alkaline)
pH measures acidity. At pH 4.6 or below, most harmful bacteria — including Clostridium botulinum — cannot grow. This is why high-acid fruit jams (strawberry, raspberry, blueberry) are the only home-canned product allowed under Indiana's HBV rules. Low-acid foods like tomatoes (pH ~4.5–4.7, borderline), green beans, and most vegetables cannot be safely home-canned without acidification — which itself is prohibited under HBV rules.
If you're developing a product that might be borderline — an unusual jam, dehydrated vegetable chip, or fermented condiment — Purdue University's Food Entrepreneurship and Manufacturing Institute (FEMI) offers laboratory testing for both water activity and pH. Contact them at ag.purdue.edu/department/foodsci/home-based-vendors.html or call (765) 494-8256. Testing is the only way to know for certain whether a novel product qualifies. Some county health departments may also require this testing before allowing a borderline product to be sold at a local market.
Sales Channels
Where You Can Sell Your Shelf-Stable Products
Indiana's 2022 HBV reform (HB 1149) dramatically expanded where home food sellers can take their products. Here's every channel and its status under current law.
✅ Allowed
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In-Person / Direct Sales
Sell directly to customers face-to-face anywhere in Indiana — at your door, at events, or anywhere you and the buyer meet.
✅ Allowed
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Online Sales
Sell through your own website, social media, or online marketplace. Labels must also be posted digitally on your sales page.
✅ Allowed
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In-State Shipping & Delivery
Ship or deliver anywhere within Indiana by mail, courier, or third-party carrier. Records of each customer's address must be kept for at least one year.
✅ Allowed
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Farmers Markets
Indiana has hundreds of farmers markets statewide. Individual markets may have their own vendor application processes and fees — check with each market directly.
✅ Allowed
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Roadside Stands
Sell from your property roadside stand — the original HBV channel, still fully allowed and popular for farm-adjacent sellers.
✅ Allowed
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Phone Orders
Take orders by telephone and arrange delivery or pickup. Standard labeling requirements apply to all shipped products.
🚫 Not Allowed
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Wholesale to Retailers
Selling to grocery stores, gift shops, or any retailer for resale requires a licensed commercial kitchen and a Retail Food Establishment permit.
🚫 Not Allowed
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Interstate Shipping
You may not ship or deliver HBV products to customers outside Indiana. Products must only reach end consumers within the state.
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Record-Keeping Requirement for Shipped & Delivered Orders
When you ship or deliver products to customers — whether by mail, courier, or in person — Indiana law requires you to maintain a record of each customer's shipping or delivery address for at least one year after the date of sale. This is a straightforward compliance step: a simple order spreadsheet or sales platform export satisfies it. Keep it somewhere you can find it.
Requirements
Storage & Handling Requirements
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Produce in a Primary Residence
All HBV food products must be made, grown, or raised at your primary domestic residence — the home where you actually live. Mobile homes, rental units where you reside, and outbuildings (barns, sheds) on the same property are permitted as production spaces, provided they are sanitary and meet basic kitchen hygiene standards.
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No Commercial Kitchens
Production in a rented or shared commercial kitchen disqualifies you from HBV status and requires a Retail Food Establishment license. HBV production must occur in your home kitchen or on-property structures only.
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Standard Kitchen Hygiene
While no inspection is required, basic food safety practices apply: clean preparation surfaces, proper handwashing, separation of raw and ready-to-eat foods, pest control, and storage away from chemicals or non-food items. Your food handler certificate training covers these standards.
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No NSF Equipment Required
Home-Based Vendors are not required to use NSF-certified (commercial-grade) equipment. Your home stove, refrigerator, and mixing equipment are all acceptable for HBV production.
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Tamper-Evident Packaging for Shipped Orders
When shipping or delivering products to end consumers, they must be packaged in sealed packaging that allows the customer to determine if the package has been tampered with. Sealed bags, shrink-wrapped containers, and banded boxes all qualify.
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Wastewater Considerations
If scaling up production significantly, your home's septic or sewer system should be adequate to handle increased kitchen wastewater. Your local health department can advise if modifications may be needed — though this is rarely an issue for typical home bakers and confectioners.
Packaging
Packaging Your Shelf-Stable Products
For in-person sales at farmers markets or roadside stands, products should be packaged and labeled before sale. Placards (signs with label information) may substitute for individual labels only when direct labeling is not practical — for example, unshelled eggs sold by the dozen. Most products require individual labeling.
Shipped products must use tamper-evident sealed packaging. This protects your customers and demonstrates care. Heat-sealed bags, clamshell containers with tamper seals, cellophane-wrapped trays, and sealed mason jars all qualify. Include all required label information on or attached to each package.
Labels must be affixed to or legibly placed on each individual product. For online sales, the product label information must also be posted on your website or marketplace listing page so customers can read it before purchase. See the Label Requirements page for all required fields.
Indiana does not require labels or packaging to be reviewed or approved by any state agency before you start selling. You are responsible for ensuring your labels comply with IC 16-42-5.3. The Label Creator tool in your SellFood account pre-fills the required Indiana disclaimer to simplify this.
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Pro Tip: Invest in Professional Labels Early
Professional-looking labels do double duty in Indiana — they satisfy legal requirements AND build customer trust. Services like Canva, Avery, or a local printer can produce compliance-ready, branded labels inexpensively. Your label is often the first impression a mail-order customer gets of your business. Make it count.