Food establishment shall mean an operation that stores, prepares, packages, serves, sells, vends, delivers, or otherwise provides food for human consumption. The term does not include:
(7) A private home where a producer of food that meets the requirements of section 81-2,280 is prepared for sale directly to the consumer including, but not limited to, at a farmers market, fair, festival, craft show, or other public event or for pick up at or delivery from such private home;
81-2,280. Producer of food at private home; requirements; registration; contents.
(1) A producer of food at a private home as described in subdivision (7) of section 81-2,245.01 shall meet the requirements of this section.
(2) Such producer shall only provide food that is not adulterated and is not any of the following types of time/temperature control for safety food:
(3) Prior to conducting any food sales, the producer, other than a producer selling food that is not time/temperature control for safety food directly to the consumer at a farmers market, shall successfully complete:
(4) The producer shall register with the department prior to conducting any sales of food. The registration shall be made on forms prescribed by the department and include (a) the name, address, and telephone number of the producer, (b) the type of food safety and handling education or training course taken pursuant to subsection (3) of this section and the date of its successful completion, and (c) proof of private well water testing for contamination by nitrate or bacteria if the producer uses private well water. This subsection shall not apply to a producer of food that is not time/temperature control for safety food selling directly to the consumer at a farmers market.
(5)(a) The producer shall inform the consumer by a clearly visible notification that the food:
(b) For sales conducted at a farmers market, fair, festival, craft show, or other public event, such notification shall be provided at the sale location.
(c) For sales conducted for pickup or delivery, such notification shall be provided at the producer's private home, on the producer's website, if such website exists, and in any print, radio, television, or Internet advertisement for such sales.
(6) The producer shall label the food so that the name and address of the producer is provided to the consumer on the package or container label. Food that is time/temperature control for safety food shall also have labeling that includes ingredients in descending order of predominance.
(7)(a) Food that is not time/temperature control for safety food may be delivered by United States mail or a commercial mail delivery service.
(b) Food that is time/temperature control for safety food shall be delivered only by the producer to the consumer in person. When transported, such food shall be maintained at a temperature in accordance with the Nebraska Pure Food Act and not be transported for longer than two hours.
(8) The provisions of this section supersede and preempt any ordinance, rule, regulation, or resolution regulating food safety and handling adopted or enacted by a political subdivision that is not in conformance with this section.
Please contact agr.foodsafety@nebraska.gov with questions that aren't answered below.
If you are already registered and your contact information has changed, please send an email to agr.foodsafety@nebraska.gov to update your registration.
About Registration:
List of registered cottage food producers
Food Safety Course Examples
Water Well Testing (Nebraska Public Health Environmental Lab)
No. This is referring to meat, lard, tallow, bone broth, bone meal, etc. The food being sold cannot contain meat ingredients.
The sale of eggs does not fall under cottage food. However, they can still be sold exactly as they have been sold. If you want to sell eggs you have produced and have less than 3,000 hens, contact the Nebraska Department of Ag and ask for an egg number. It’s free and you will be provided with additional guidance. It can also be found here.
Raw milk can only be sold on the farm directly to the end user and CANNOT be sold in any other manner without violating the Nebraska Milk Act. So raw milk could not be used to make cheese, ice cream, etc. to sell.
Traditional jams and jellies can be sold, as long as they are made using pectin.
Yes, this would be allowed.
You will need to follow any requirements that the farmers market operation has for its vendors. Additionally, cheesecake is a time/temperature for safety food (TCS). This means that you will need a way to keep your cheesecake 41F or colder while there and labeled properly.
Raw milk products and milk products as defined in the Grade A 12 Pasteurized Milk Ordinance adopted by reference in the Nebraska Milk Act CANNOT be sold as cottage food; (https://www.fda.gov/media/114169/download.) Common items on the excluded list include milk, cream, sour cream and yogurt.
Products can contain milk and milk products as ingredients as long as the milk products you use in your finished product are from an approved source (purchased from a licensed entity such as a grocery store).
Yes. You can sell ice cream, cheese, cheesecake, pudding, and other items using approved sources. These products are considered time temperature for safety and would require refrigeration or freezing.
You can make and sell homemade ice cream but you CANNOT use raw eggs that have not been cooked.
Yes. As long as the cake has been cooked fully and eggs are no longer raw.
If products are not pre-made at a private home, you cannot operate under the cottage food exemption. LB 262 of 2024 now clearly provides that all cottage food products must be prepared in a private home.
Listing ingredients in descending order of predominance is by weight and means that the ingredient that weighs the most is listed first, and the ingredient that weighs the least, is listed last. This reflects what dominant ingredients are in your product.
No.
It needs to be the specific mailing address where you can be contacted.
This food was prepared in a kitchen that is not subject to regulation and inspection by the regulatory authority and may contain allergens.
If the food being freeze dried and sold is not excluded from being sold as a cottage food in the exemption.
No. Cottage food must be sold directly to the customer.