Selling hummus in Minnesota

Q: Where do I go from here?

How to sell hummus to stores. Every step, its reason and its typical cost Selling food made at home in Minnesota. All of Minnesota's lines, what you may make, register and outgrow How do I find and choose a co-packer?. 5 min read How do I work out my shelf life and best-by date?. 4 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 Minnesota's own pages say about making hummus 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 hummus at home in Minnesota?

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

What rules does hummus come under beyond Minnesota's?

Outside a home kitchen, ShelfStep's plan reads hummus as a refrigerated or frozen food. The plan's own line for it, a default and not a law:

ShelfStep’s plan default, not a lawFrozen or refrigerated (non-meat): cold chain, shelf-life / challenge study, "keep frozen/refrigerated" labeling.21 CFR 114.3

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 hummus

Acidified foods kept under refrigeration21 CFR 114.3(b) says:“and foods that are stored, distributed, and retailed under refrigeration are excluded from the coverage of this part.”21 CFR 114.3(b) · 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 Minnesota?

Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: where it may be sold2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption says:“(1) directly to the ultimate consumer at a community event or farmers' market; (2) directly from the individual's home to the ultimate consumer, to the extent allowed by local ordinance; or”2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption · Read Oct 24, 2026
Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: where it may be sold2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption says:“Food products exempt under subdivision 1 may be sold over the Internet but must be delivered directly to the ultimate consumer by the individual who prepared the food product. The statement "These products are homemade and not subject to state inspection." must be displayed on the website that offers the exempt foods for purchase.”2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption · Read Oct 24, 2026
Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: a yearly sales ceiling2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption says:“An individual selling exempt foods under this section is limited to total sales with gross receipts of $78,000 or less in a calendar year.”2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption · Read Oct 24, 2026
Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: where it may be soldMDA, Cottage Food Law Guidance says:“The statement is to clarify it is a registration, not a food license, so therefore cottage foods cannot be wholesaled to businesses for resale.”MDA, Cottage Food Law Guidance · Read Oct 24, 2026
Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: where it may be soldMDA, Cottage Food Law Guidance says:“NOTE: Cottage foods can cross state lines, with the exception of acidified jarred or canned foods (e.g., pickles, tomato sauce). Those foods must be both made and sold in Minnesota.”MDA, Cottage Food Law Guidance · Read Oct 24, 2026

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

Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: the home-made label2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption says:“the prepared food offered for sale under this clause is labeled to accurately reflect the name and the registration number or address of the individual preparing and selling the food, the date on which the food was prepared, the ingredients and any possible allergens, and the statement "These products are homemade and not subject to state inspection."; and”2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption · Read Oct 24, 2026
Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: the home-made label2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption says:“the individual displays at the point of sale a clearly legible sign or placard stating: "These products are homemade and not subject to state inspection."; and”2024 Minnesota Statutes, 28A.152 Cottage Foods Exemption · Read Oct 24, 2026

How do I get hummus into a store in Minnesota?

Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: what applies beyond the home-kitchen rulesMDA, Cottage Food Law Guidance says:“If you sell more than $78,000, you need a food license and meet applicable laws for making and selling food under that license.”MDA, Cottage Food Law Guidance · Read Oct 24, 2026
Minnesota's Cottage Food Exemption rules: what applies beyond the home-kitchen rulesMDA, Cottage Food Law Guidance says:“Food licenses do not have restrictions on the amount of annual sales, allow for a wide variety of foods to be sold, and allow for several types of sales including shipping food in the mail. A food license requires the use of an approved kitchen space and equipment that meets applicable regulatory requirements.”MDA, Cottage Food Law Guidance · Read Oct 24, 2026

From there, ShelfStep's standard plan for a refrigerated or frozen food has 20 steps. The first 6 help you find out where and how hummus 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.
Work out how it stays cold from your kitchen to the shop
If your product needs refrigeration or freezing, plan how to keep it cold at every hand-off. Who keeps it cold at each hand-off, and how you would know if they did not, is what a buyer asks first.
4.
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.
5.
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.
6.
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.

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

1. Write the recipe down with exact amounts 2. Decide how it is kept: on a shelf, in the fridge or frozen 3. Work out how it stays cold from your kitchen to the shop 4. Find out where you are allowed to make it for sale 5. Have the pH and water activity of a finished batch measured 6. Get a Process Authority's letter on how it is made safe 7. Look into FDA registration 8. Choose the container and what seals it 9. Shortlist three co-packers or commercial kitchens 10. Work out what one batch, and one unit, costs to make 11. Set up lot codes and a recall plan 12. Make a first full-size batch 13. Find out how long it keeps 14. Get barcodes 15. Draft the label with everything it has to say 16. Set the wholesale and shelf price from the cost 17. Sell it at a market before you scale 18. Get product liability insurance 19. Make the one-page sheet a buyer reads 20. Name your first three stores

Where do I go from here?

How to sell hummus to storesEvery step, its reason and its typical cost Selling food made at home in MinnesotaAll of Minnesota's lines, what you may make, register and outgrow

How do I find and choose a co-packer?5 min read How do I work out my shelf life and best-by date?4 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.