Selling canned soup in Wisconsin

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 Wisconsin. All of Wisconsin'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 24, 2026; not legal advice.

Sources last read Oct 24, 2026

What Wisconsin'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.

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 Wisconsin?

Wisconsin's own pages, as ShelfStep read them on October 24, 2026, do not name canned soup or foods like it, so this page cannot tell you whether a home kitchen in Wisconsin may make it. Ask the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection before you make it at home to sell. What the state allows and leaves out in general is on the Wisconsin page.

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

Wisconsin, home-canned foods: where it may be soldWis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b)2., Food processing plants (home-canned foods) says:“b. The person sells the food products at a community or social event or a farmers' market in this state.”Wis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b)2., Food processing plants (home-canned foods) · Read Oct 24, 2026
Wisconsin, home-canned foods: a yearly sales ceilingWis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b)2., Food processing plants (home-canned foods) says:“c. The person receives less than $5,000 per year from the sale of the food products.”Wis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b)2., Food processing plants (home-canned foods) · Read Oct 24, 2026
Wisconsin, home-canned foods: where it may be soldWisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Home-Canned Foods says:“Only retail sales (direct from producer to consumer) are allowed. Sales can only be conducted at community or social events, flea markets or farmers markets in Wisconsin.”Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Home-Canned Foods · Read Oct 24, 2026
Wisconsin, home-canned foods: where it may be soldWisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Home-Canned Foods says:“The following sales are not permitted: out of your home, wholesale (to be sold later by someone else), on consignment, via the internet or out of state, exempt foods (pickle bill products) sold along with licensed foods.”Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Home-Canned Foods · Read Oct 24, 2026
Wisconsin, homemade baked goods: where it may be soldWisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Licenses and Homemade Baked Goods says:“The court's order only applies if the home baker only sells their items that are not potentially hazardous directly to consumers.”Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Licenses and Homemade Baked Goods · Read Oct 24, 2026

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

Wisconsin, home-canned foods: the home-made labelWis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b)2., Food processing plants (home-canned foods) says:“d. The person displays a sign at the place of sale stating: “These canned goods are homemade and not subject to state inspection.””Wis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b)2., Food processing plants (home-canned foods) · Read Oct 24, 2026
Wisconsin, home-canned foods: the home-made labelWis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b)2., Food processing plants (home-canned foods) says:“e. Each container of food product that is sold is labeled with the name and address of the person who prepared and canned the food product, the date on which the food product was canned, the statement “This product was made in a private home not subject to state licensing or inspection.”, and a list of ingredients in descending order of prominence.”Wis. Stat. § 97.29(2)(b)2., Food processing plants (home-canned foods) · Read Oct 24, 2026
Wisconsin, home-canned foods: the home-made labelWisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Home-Canned Foods says:“All ingredients in descending order of prominence, including the common name for any ingredient that originates from milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans or sesame as these are ingredients that can cause severe allergic reactions in some people, who must be able to recognize when they are present.”Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Home-Canned Foods · Read Oct 24, 2026

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

Wisconsin, home-canned foods: what applies beyond the home-kitchen rulesWisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Home-Canned Foods says:“Please note that this is a narrow exception to the law; most foods sold in Wisconsin must be produced in a licensed facility.”Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Home-Canned Foods · Read Oct 24, 2026
Wisconsin, homemade baked goods: what applies beyond the home-kitchen rulesWisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Licenses and Homemade Baked Goods says:“Any business producing potentially hazardous baked goods must be licensed. ... A business that is wholesaling baked goods must be licensed.”Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Licenses and Homemade Baked Goods · Read Oct 24, 2026
Wisconsin, homemade baked goods: what applies beyond the home-kitchen rulesWisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Licenses and Homemade Baked Goods says:“The court's orders apply only to people producing baked goods in their homes. All commercial kitchen baking businesses must follow the Wisconsin Administrative Code requirements of ATCP 70 ( Wholesale Food Manufacturing ), or ATCP 75 ( Retail Food Establishments ) and its Appendix ( Wisconsin Food Code ). Commercial kitchens must ensure that all food businesses using their facilities are appropriately licensed.”Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Licenses and Homemade Baked Goods · Read Oct 24, 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 WisconsinAll of Wisconsin'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

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.

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