Selling canned soup in North Carolina

Q: Where may food made at home be sold in North Carolina?

NCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor says: “If you are interested in producing and selling food products for human consumption from your home, you will need to first have your home kitchen inspected before doing so. This includes anyone selling to retail stores, restaurants, or directly to consumers.” (NCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor, read October 8, 2026). ShelfStep's summary of the rules and their sources, read October 8, 2026; not legal advice.

Q: Where do I go from here?

How to sell canned soup to stores. Every step, its reason and its typical cost Selling food made at home in North Carolina. All of North Carolina's lines, what you may make, register and outgrow Does my sauce or salsa need a scheduled process?. 5 min read How do I find and choose a co-packer?. 5 min read Do I need to register with the FDA to sell my food product?. 4 min read ShelfStep's summary of the rules and their sources, read October 8, 2026; not legal advice.

Sources last read Oct 8, 2026

What North Carolina's own pages say about making canned soup at home, each line linked, and the path to a store when you want one to stock it.

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General information, not advice. This is written for small food makers and cites its sources, but it is not legal, regulatory or food-safety advice, and it cannot account for your product, your state or your facility. Rules change and thresholds are adjusted yearly. Confirm anything you are about to act on with your state agency, a Process Authority, or the FDA.

Can I make canned soup at home in North Carolina?

North Carolina's own pages name canned soup, or foods like it, among what North Carolina says a home kitchen may not make. ShelfStep found these lines by the words they use; whether they cover your product is for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to say. Those lines, as the state writes them:

North Carolina's Home Processor rules: what may not be made at homeNCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor says:“High risk food products ARE NOT PERMITTED to be produced in your home kitchen and can only be produced commercially under our routine inspection program. This also includes products that are purchased prepackaged from a retailer or wholesaler that require refrigeration. High risk products include, but are not limited to the following: Refrigerated or frozen products Low-acid canned foods ( i.e. jarred fruits, vegetables, etc. ) Dairy Products Seafood products Bottled water/Juice Products Bakery products with cream or cream cheese fillings; cheesecakes”NCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor · Read Oct 8, 2026

What rules does canned soup come under beyond North Carolina's?

Outside a home kitchen, ShelfStep's plan reads canned soup as a low-acid canned food. The plan's own line for it, a default and not a law:

ShelfStep’s plan default, not a lawLow-acid canned (21 CFR 113): retort / thermal process.21 CFR 113

What the rules behind it say, in their own words, with the page and the day ShelfStep read each. ShelfStep does not decide which of them apply to your product.

Source to check: the rules behind ShelfStep's plan for canned soup

A low-acid canned food processor's FDA registration and process filing21 CFR 108.35(c) says:“(1) Registration. A commercial processor when first engaging in the manufacture, processing, or packing of thermally processed low-acid foods in hermetically sealed containers in any State, as defined in section 201(a)(1) of the act, shall, not later than 10 days after first so engaging, register with the Food and Drug Administration on Form FDA 2541 (food canning establishment registration) ... (2) Process filing. A commercial processor engaged in the thermal processing of low-acid foods packaged in hermetically sealed containers shall, not later than 60 days after registration and prior to the packing of a new product, provide the Food and Drug Administration information as to the scheduled processes”21 CFR 108.35(c) · Read Oct 8, 2026
The thermal processing systems of 21 CFR 11321 CFR 113.40 says:“(a) Equipment and procedures for pressure processing in steam in still retorts ... (g) Aseptic processing and packaging systems ... (h) Equipment and procedures for flame sterilizers”21 CFR 113.40 · Read Oct 8, 2026
Who sets a low-acid canned food's scheduled process21 CFR 113.83 says:“Scheduled processes for low-acid foods shall be established by qualified persons having expert knowledge of thermal processing requirements for low-acid foods in hermetically sealed containers and having adequate facilities for making such determinations.”21 CFR 113.83 · Read Oct 8, 2026

Source to check: FDA food facility registration

FDA's definition of a food facility21 CFR 1.227 says:“Facility means any establishment, structure, or structures under one ownership at one general physical location, or, in the case of a mobile facility, traveling to multiple locations, that manufactures/processes, packs, or holds food for consumption in the United States. ... The private residence of an individual is not a facility.”21 CFR 1.227 · Read Oct 8, 2026

Where may food made at home be sold in North Carolina?

North Carolina's Home Processor rules: where it may be soldNCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor says:“If you are interested in producing and selling food products for human consumption from your home, you will need to first have your home kitchen inspected before doing so. This includes anyone selling to retail stores, restaurants, or directly to consumers.”NCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor · Read Oct 8, 2026

What does North Carolina say a home-made label must carry?

North Carolina's Home Processor rules: the home-made labelNCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor says:“Food product labels shall be required if products are individually packaged for self-service sale or sold wholesale to retail stores, distributors, or restaurants. Labels shall also be required if products are shipped using postal services such as USPS or FEDEX.”NCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor · Read Oct 8, 2026
North Carolina's Home Processor rules: the home-made labelNCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor says:“The label must be affixed to the package bearing the following: 1. Product name 2. Manufacturers name and address 3. Net weight of the product in ounces/pounds and the gram weight equivalent 4. Complete list of ingredients in order of predominance by weight”NCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor · Read Oct 8, 2026
North Carolina's Home Processor rules: the home-made labelNCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor says:“Please note that all allergens must be listed in the ingredient statement or in a “Contains” statement immediately following the ingredients (ex. Contains: Milk, Egg, Almonds, ect.).”NCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor · Read Oct 8, 2026
North Carolina's Home Processor rules: the home-made labelNCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor says:“Nutritional labels are not required under the home processor program, however. If certain claims are made about the product (i.e. low fat, sugar free, etc.) then a nutritional label must also be added to your product.”NCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor · Read Oct 8, 2026
North Carolina's Home Processor rules: the home-made labelNCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor says:“The only exemption to having an affixed label is if the product being produced is sold on demand directly to the consumer. This may include picking up orders from your home, delivering finished products to the consumers, or delivering products to special events (i.e. weddings, birthday parties, etc.). Selling products from farmers markets or similar venues may also be exempt from having a label as long as you are handing the product to the consumer (i.e. from behind the counter ), however. Ingredient information must be available upon request by the consumer.”NCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor · Read Oct 8, 2026

How do I get canned soup into a store in North Carolina?

North Carolina's Home Processor rules: what applies beyond the home-kitchen rulesNCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor says:“Please note, if the kitchen where you are planning to produce is in a separate location from your home kitchen (i.e. garage, basement, etc.) or in a separate building on your property then your business will not qualify under the home processing program and will be considered a commercial business.”NCDA&CS, Food Program: Home Processor · Read Oct 8, 2026

From there, ShelfStep's standard plan for a low-acid canned food has 18 steps. The first 6 help you find out where and how canned soup can be made at all, so they come first:

1.
Write the recipe down with exact amounts
Cost, price, nutrition and the label are all worked out from this. Write it in the units you actually use; ShelfStep converts for the label. What matters is that someone else could make the same batch from what is written.
2.
Decide how it is kept: on a shelf, in the fridge or frozen
The planned storage helps the reviewer assess the process, shelf life and packaging.
In the plan: It decides which rules you follow.
3.
Find out where you are allowed to make it for sale
This finds out whether the state’s rules allow making this in a home kitchen or point to a commercial one — and that changes the cost and the timeline of everything after it. It is much cheaper to find out now than after buying packaging.
In the plan: Your state's home-kitchen rules, in its own words. Whether they cover your product is for your state's agency to say.
4.
Have the pH and water activity of a finished batch measured
These measurements give your reviewer information about the batch; they do not establish safety or storage conditions on their own.
In the plan: The two numbers the acidified-food rules name. Measured on the finished product, once it has settled.
5.
Get a Process Authority's letter on how it is made safe
Ask a qualified reviewer which process and storage conditions your product needs. This is where you ask someone qualified, a Process Authority, to put in writing how the product is made safe. Buyers, insurers and inspectors may ask for that document, and it cannot be obtained after the fact for product you have already sold.
In the plan: Needs the pH first. Their letter sets out the process they ask you to hold to, and the storage line for your label.
6.
Look into FDA registration
Registration is how FDA knows your facility exists; the plan is what an inspector or a buyer’s audit asks to see. Both are far easier to do now than during either.
In the plan: Look into registration with FDA. Any filing your Process Authority letter names belongs here too.

Every step, with its reason and what it typically costs, is on the canned soup page:

1. Write the recipe down with exact amounts 2. Decide how it is kept: on a shelf, in the fridge or frozen 3. Find out where you are allowed to make it for sale 4. Have the pH and water activity of a finished batch measured 5. Get a Process Authority's letter on how it is made safe 6. Look into FDA registration 7. Choose the container and what seals it 8. Shortlist three co-packers or commercial kitchens 9. Work out what one batch, and one unit, costs to make 10. Set up lot codes and a recall plan 11. Make a first full-size batch 12. Get barcodes 13. Draft the label with everything it has to say 14. Set the wholesale and shelf price from the cost 15. Sell it at a market before you scale 16. Get product liability insurance 17. Make the one-page sheet a buyer reads 18. Name your first three stores

Where do I go from here?

How to sell canned soup to storesEvery step, its reason and its typical cost Selling food made at home in North CarolinaAll of North Carolina's lines, what you may make, register and outgrow

Does my sauce or salsa need a scheduled process?5 min read How do I find and choose a co-packer?5 min read Do I need to register with the FDA to sell my food product?4 min read

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The rules check runs the same deterministic engine ShelfStep uses inside the app, on your answers, and quotes the sentences each rule rests on, with their links and the day ShelfStep read them. It does not decide which apply. It is free, needs no account and uses no AI. A ShelfStep workspace then keeps your plan, your records and the dates, free for one product.

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Something here out of date, or a state we should write up next? Email hello@shelfstep.com.