Rhode Island cottage food law for home bakers

The short version

Rhode Island lets you sell home-baked goods once you register as a Cottage Food Manufacturer with the state health department, a step above the paperwork some towns ask for on their own. Registration costs $65 a year and asks for a food safety course, a notarized statement that your kitchen meets the rules, and your recipes and labels.

You can take orders online, by mail or by phone, but the food itself has to reach the customer through an in-person handoff, yours or a designee's, and only inside Rhode Island. Sales stop once you pass $50,000 in a calendar year unless you move up to a full food processor license.

Wholesale and consignment are off the table, and so is selling into a grocery store, restaurant, school, day care or care facility. Selling at a farmers market or festival needs a second, separate license on top of the cottage food registration.

Registering

The rule is administered by Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), Center for Food Protection; the guide reads R.I. Gen. Laws § 21-27-6.2 (Cottage food manufacture); registration opened November 1, 2022.

The application, the notarized kitchen affidavit and your food safety course record all go to RIDOH together, along with a private well's water test if that is your water source. The registration is good for one year and then renews.

Where you can sell, and whether online counts

The law spells out internet, mail and phone as fine ways to take an order, as long as the food itself is handed over in person within Rhode Island; the statute never allows mailing or shipping the product itself, so that is marked not allowed rather than assumed open.

What goes on the label

Every label needs your business name, address and phone number, an ingredient list by weight, allergen information and the required disclosure sentence in at least ten point type that stands out from the label's background. A product made in a RIDOH-licensed commercial kitchen instead of your home skips the disclosure sentence.

"Made by a Cottage Food Business Registrant That is Not Subject to Routine Government Food Safety Inspection."

• Business name, address and telephone number
• Ingredients in descending order of predominance by weight or volume
• Allergen information for the major allergens (milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans)

What you can bake and sell

The list is shelf-stable baked goods only: pies, breads, biscuits, brownies, cookies, muffins and non-refrigerated cakes. Frosting that is chilled for taste rather than safety is allowed; anything that needs refrigeration to stay safe is not, and a product not on the list needs a call to RIDOH before you sell it.

• Allowed: Baked goods that do not need refrigeration or temperature control to stay safe: double crust or single crust fruit pies, yeast breads, biscuits, brownies, cookies, muffins and cakes that do not need refrigeration, plus frosting or other toppings kept cold only for quality, not for safety.
• Not allowed: Anything that needs refrigeration or time and temperature control to stay safe, and any item RIDOH's Center for Food Protection has not confirmed belongs on the approved baked-goods list.

The sales cap

Rhode Island caps cottage food sales at $50,000 a year, counted as Total annual gross sales in a calendar year.

Work out how much room you have left this year with the cottage food sales cap checker.

Questions people ask

Do I need to register to sell cottage food in Rhode Island?

Yes, Rhode Island requires registration before the first sale. Register with RIDOH as a Cottage Food Manufacturer: a completed application, a notarized affidavit that your kitchen meets the standards in the law, proof of an approved food safety course, your recipes and product labels, and (if your water comes from a private well) an annual water test for total coliform, E. coli and nitrates, submitted before RIDOH approves and you may start selling. The fee is $65. Due every year, paid to the general treasurer of Rhode Island.

Has the cottage food sales cap in Rhode Island changed over time?

$50,000 a year from November 1, 2022, counted as Total annual gross sales in a calendar year.

Can I take orders online in Rhode Island?

Yes, you can take orders online. The handover has to happen in person.

Can I deliver or ship cottage food in Rhode Island?

Delivery is allowed. Shipping inside the state is not allowed.

What does my Rhode Island cottage food label need to say?

The label must say: Made by a Cottage Food Business Registrant That is Not Subject to Routine Government Food Safety Inspection.

Sources

• R.I. Gen. Laws § 21-27-6.2, Cottage food manufacturewebserver.rilegislature.gov
• RIDOH FAQ, Cottage Food Manufacturing in Rhode Islandhealth.ri.gov