Popcorn is dry and shelf-stable, so cottage food laws generally allow it, and the coatings don't change that: kettle corn, caramel corn, and popcorn tossed in powdered cheese keep at room temperature too. California's approved list names popcorn; Michigan allows foods that don't need temperature control; Minnesota allows food that isn't potentially hazardous, with a registration and training; and North Dakota allows sales straight to the customer. What a popcorn maker watches is the label, milk in caramel and cheese corn, nuts in a nut mix, and keeping it sealed, since popcorn goes stale fast. In the example below, a Michigan home popcorn maker takes on a school fundraiser.
The short version
- Popcorn is shelf-stable: a cottage food in all four states here.
- Kettle, caramel and cheese popcorn are fine too.
- California's list names popcorn.
- Minnesota: a yearly registration and approved training.
- Label milk in caramel and cheese corn, and nuts in mixes.
- Seal the bags; popcorn goes stale fast.
- TaroStack keeps each customer's order and each batch's lot. More below.
Popcorn, state by state
| Product | Michigan | Minnesota | North Dakota | California |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kettle corn | Yes | Yes, registered | Yes | Yes, on the list |
| Caramel corn with peanuts | Yes | Yes, registered | Yes | Yes, on the list |
| White cheddar popcorn | Yes | Yes, registered | Yes | Yes, on the list |
The business beyond home is in popcorn business plan, and bags and tins in how to package popcorn for sale.
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 Michigan school fundraiser
Grand Haven Kettle Corn, a made-up home popcorn maker in Grand Haven, Michigan, pops kettle corn and caramel corn at home and sells it at a summer market. A school asked for 200 bags for a fundraiser; Michigan's cottage foods are sold straight to the customer, so the families order from the popcorn maker directly and pick up, rather than the school reselling. Caramel corn with peanuts says milk and peanuts on its label. How long it keeps is in kettle corn shelf life.
Get the checker
Download the home popcorn 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. Two hundred fundraiser orders, three flavors, and a family with a peanut allergy are where a bag goes to the wrong name.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each customer's order and each batch's lot, and what each bag 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 bags is a batch from its recipe, with its date and lot, and the lot goes on each order it fills.
True cost. Each bag 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 bag 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.