Pickles in vinegar brine are acidified foods, safe because of their acidity, and that decides where they can be sold from a home kitchen. Minnesota names home-canned pickles as allowed if their pH is 4.6 or lower, with a yearly registration and approved training; North Dakota allows them sold straight to the customer; Michigan leaves out canned foods other than jams; and California's approved list doesn't include them. Refrigerator pickles, never processed for the shelf, need the fridge, which takes them out everywhere except North Dakota's frozen route, and pickles don't freeze well. In the example below, a Minnesota cottage food producer checks its pickles.
The short version
- Pickles in vinegar brine are acidified foods.
- Minnesota: home-canned at pH 4.6 or lower, registered and trained.
- North Dakota: allowed, direct to the customer.
- Michigan: canned foods other than jams are excluded.
- California: not on the approved list.
- Refrigerator pickles need the fridge: not cottage foods here.
- TaroStack keeps each customer's order and each batch's lot. More below.
Pickles, state by state
| Product | Michigan | Minnesota | North Dakota | California |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dill pickles, canned | No: canned foods other than jams are excluded | Only at pH 4.6 or lower | Yes | No: not on the list |
| Refrigerator pickles | No: needs temperature control | No: potentially hazardous | Frozen, with labels | No: not on the list |
| Pickling spice blend | Yes | Yes, registered | Yes | Yes, on the list |
Selling at a market is in how to sell pickles at farmers market, and testing the pH in ph testing for acidified foods.
The rules
| State | Rule |
|---|---|
| Michigan | Food that isn't time/temperature control for safety, including jams, candy, dried fruit, granola, dry mixes, vinegar, dried herbs and baked goods; not meat or poultry, milk products, beverages, salsa, or canned foods other than standardized jams (MCL 289.1105(k)); prepackaged, labeled with the home kitchen statement, sold straight to the consumer (MCL 289.4102) |
| Minnesota | Food that isn't potentially hazardous, and home-canned pickles, vegetables or fruits at pH 4.6 or lower or water activity 0.85 or less; registration every year and approved food safety training (Minn. Stat. 28A.152) |
| North Dakota | No state license for cottage food sold directly to an informed end consumer; foods that need refrigeration labeled with safe handling instructions and as transported and maintained frozen; no uninspected meat, poultry only from the seller's own birds (N.D.C.C. 23-09.5-02) |
| California | Cottage foods are nonpotentially hazardous foods on the approved list, among them baked goods without cream, custard or meat fillings, candy, chocolate-covered nonperishables, dried fruit, dried pasta, granola, herb blends, honey, standardized jams, nut butters, popcorn, vinegar and mustard, roasted coffee and dried tea (HSC 114365.5); Class A sells directly, Class B also through shops and restaurants (HSC 113758) |
This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: a Minnesota market table
North Shore Pantry, the made-up cottage food producer in Two Harbors, Minnesota, I use in these examples, cans dill pickles at home and tests each batch's pH, which runs at 3.6. Registered with the state and trained, it sells them at a summer market with the cottage food label. The refrigerator pickles a customer asked about would need the fridge, so they aren't on the table. Going from a home kitchen to stores is in how to start a pickle business.
Get the checker
Download the home pickles checker. Two sheets: your products, whether each needs refrigeration, is meat or poultry, a milk product, a canned food other than jam, or a drink, and whether it's on California's list; how Michigan's, Minnesota's, North Dakota's and California's cottage food laws treat it fill in; and each state's rules as read for this article. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The rules decide what can be sold. Each batch's pH, the jars it filled, and the customers who bought them are what a question about one jar needs.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each customer's order and each batch's lot, and what each jar costs.
Orders. Each customer's order goes in for its pickup or market day, with a picking list.
Each batch a lot. A batch of jars is a batch from its recipe, with its date and lot, and the lot goes on each order it fills.
True cost. Each jar is costed from its recipe and the batch, at what the ingredients actually cost.
| The job | Paper | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets what on market day | Order sheets | Orders by day |
| Which batch went to which customer | Not recorded | Lots on each order |
| What a jar costs | A guess | True cost from the recipe and batch |
Orders, recipes and batches are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.