Selling canned soup in Oregon

Sources last read Sep 26, 2026

What Oregon'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.

Run the free rules check for it: no account, no AI.

A sketch of Canned soup in its jar.
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 Oregon?

Oregon's own pages, as ShelfStep read them on September 25, 2026, do not name canned soup or foods like it, so this page cannot tell you whether a home kitchen in Oregon may make it. Ask the Oregon Department of Agriculture before you make it at home to sell. What the state allows and leaves out in general is on the Oregon page.

What rules does canned soup come under beyond Oregon'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 Oregon?

  • Oregon's Cottage Food Exemption rules: where it may be soldODA, Cottage Food Exemption says:“Cottage foods may be sold to a retailer only if the food is packaged and labeled. The retailer must agree to store and display the cottage food separately from other foods and use signage to clearly indicate in the display area that the cottage foods are homemade and not prepared in an inspected food establishment.”ODA, Cottage Food Exemption · Read Sep 25, 2026
  • Oregon's Cottage Food Exemption rules: where it may be soldODA, Cottage Food Exemption says:“You cannot sell cottage foods to an institution including, but not limited to, a restaurant licensed by a county health department, caterer, school, day care center, hospital, nursing home, or correctional facility.”ODA, Cottage Food Exemption · Read Sep 25, 2026
  • Oregon's Cottage Food Exemption rules: where it may be soldODA, Cottage Food Exemption FAQ says:“Q29. Can cottage food made in Oregon be sold across state lines? We do not have jurisdictional authority in other states to make that determination. Please reach out to the state(s) where you are going to sell your cottage food for any laws or rules that may apply.”ODA, Cottage Food Exemption FAQ · Read Sep 25, 2026
  • Oregon's Cottage Food Exemption rules: a yearly sales ceilingODA, Cottage Food Exemption FAQ (March 2026) says:“In 2026, this means you can sell up to $52,700 of Cottage Foods and up to $50,000 of Processed Farm Direct foods in the calendar year.”ODA, Cottage Food Exemption FAQ (March 2026) · Read Sep 25, 2026
  • Oregon's Cottage Food Exemption rules: where it may be soldOregon Revised Statutes 616.723 says:“(4) A person may sell foods prepared in a food establishment described in subsection (2) of this section directly to the end user in any manner, including from the home, online, through the mail and at events.”Oregon Revised Statutes 616.723 · Read Sep 25, 2026

What does Oregon say a home-made label must carry?

  • Oregon's Cottage Food Exemption rules: the home-made labelODA, Cottage Food Exemption FAQ says:“When you are selling products to the end consumer as single items — for example, one cookie or muffin at a farmers market stand — there must be a placard at the location that states, “This product is homemade and is not prepared in an inspected food establishment.” You must have all required label information available upon consumer request.”ODA, Cottage Food Exemption FAQ · Read Sep 25, 2026
  • Oregon's Cottage Food Exemption rules: the home-made labelOregon Administrative Rule 603-025-0325 says:“(1) The label’s principal display panel for cottage food must contain the following statement, “This product is homemade, is not prepared in an inspected food establishment, and must be stored and displayed separately if merchandised by a retailer.””Oregon Administrative Rule 603-025-0325 · Read Sep 25, 2026
  • Oregon's Cottage Food Exemption rules: the home-made labelOregon Administrative Rule 603-025-0325 says:“(a) The name of the food; (b) The ingredients (and sub-ingredients) of the food in descending order by weight or volume; (c) Any applicable allergen warnings as specified in The Food Allergen Labeling & Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA); (d) The business name for the food establishment; ... (f) The phone number for the cottage food establishment; (g) The net weight or net volume of the product in both English and metric units;”Oregon Administrative Rule 603-025-0325 · Read Sep 25, 2026

How do I get canned soup into a store in Oregon?

  • Oregon's Cottage Food Exemption rules: what applies beyond the home-kitchen rulesODA, Cottage Food Exemption FAQ says:“If your gross annual sales exceed that limit, and you still want to operate from your home kitchen, you must be licensed and inspected by ODA as a Domestic Kitchen Bakery or Food Processor.”ODA, Cottage Food Exemption FAQ · Read Sep 25, 2026
State registration or license in Oregontypically $381 to $1,077 per year. Gross annual sales up to $50,000; $50,001 to $500,000 Source: Oregon Department of Agriculture; checked Sep 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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:

Where do I go from here?

Check the rules for yours, then keep it

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.

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