Selling hummus in Pennsylvania

Q: What does Pennsylvania say a home-made label must carry?

PDA, Limited Food Establishment application packet says: “Packaged products must have appropriate product labeling. Labeling must at minimum include: 1) Name of the product 2) Ingredients, listed from most to least by weight 3) Allergen declaration, if needed 4) Name and address of the manufacturer or distributor 5) Net Wt. or count; placement on the bottom 1/3 of the primary panel and no less than 8 pt. font” (PDA, Limited Food Establishment application packet, read October 8, 2026). PDA, Limited Food Establishment application packet says: “Bakery items made and sold directly to a Commonwealth consumer, by the baker (or their employee), do not require any labeling information directly on the products or any formal display of ingredients; however, ingredient information must be available upon request.” (PDA, Limited Food Establishment application packet, 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 hummus to stores. Every step, its reason and its typical cost Selling food made at home in Pennsylvania. All of Pennsylvania'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 8, 2026; not legal advice.

Sources last read Oct 8, 2026

What Pennsylvania'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 Pennsylvania?

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

Pennsylvania's Limited Food Establishment rules: what may be made at homePDA, Apply for or Renew a Limited Food Establishment Registration says:“A Limited Food Establishment is a residential-style kitchen used to prepare non-hazardous foods that do not require refrigeration after preparation. These kitchens are typically located in private homes or similar settings. ... Foods requiring refrigeration or hot holding, such as shellfish, are not permitted.”PDA, Apply for or Renew a Limited Food Establishment Registration · Read Oct 8, 2026
Pennsylvania's Limited Food Establishment rules: what may not be made at homePDA, Limited Food Establishment application packet says:“TCS foods can only be produced in a licensed / registered ‘COMMERCIAL’ food establishment kitchen that meets the full regulatory code requirements, including separation from residential-use areas, and adequate plumbing fixtures.”PDA, Limited Food Establishment application packet · Read Oct 8, 2026
Pennsylvania's Limited Food Establishment rules: what may be made at homePDA, Limited Food Establishment application packet says:“Bakery products, jams and jellies, acidified/fermented foods, dried mixes, and candy making are the most common types of foods from ‘limited’ food processors; however, other foods may be produced if determined to be a non-TCS food.”PDA, Limited Food Establishment application packet · Read Oct 8, 2026

What rules does hummus come under beyond Pennsylvania'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 Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania's Limited Food Establishment rules: where it may be soldPDA, Apply for or Renew a Limited Food Establishment Registration says:“Registration includes sales direct from the production site including internet sales. If you sell across state lines, you may also need FDA registration.”PDA, Apply for or Renew a Limited Food Establishment Registration · Read Oct 8, 2026
Pennsylvania's Limited Food Establishment rules: where it may be soldPDA, Apply for or Renew a Limited Food Establishment Registration says:“A Retail Food Facility License may also be required for sales at an event or farmer’s market.”PDA, Apply for or Renew a Limited Food Establishment Registration · Read Oct 8, 2026
Pennsylvania's Limited Food Establishment rules: where it may be soldPDA, Apply for or Renew a Limited Food Establishment Registration says:“Once registered, you may sell at farmers markets, community events, roadside stands, and directly to consumers. Some retail stores may also carry your products if they meet labeling requirements.”PDA, Apply for or Renew a Limited Food Establishment Registration · Read Oct 8, 2026
Pennsylvania's Limited Food Establishment rules: where it may be soldPDA, Limited Food Establishment application packet says:“How do you plan to sell the products? i.e., wholesale in state, wholesale out of state, internet, at a local farmers market, retail from the home, etc…”PDA, Limited Food Establishment application packet · Read Oct 8, 2026

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

Pennsylvania's Limited Food Establishment rules: the home-made labelPDA, Limited Food Establishment application packet says:“Packaged products must have appropriate product labeling. Labeling must at minimum include: 1) Name of the product 2) Ingredients, listed from most to least by weight 3) Allergen declaration, if needed 4) Name and address of the manufacturer or distributor 5) Net Wt. or count; placement on the bottom 1/3 of the primary panel and no less than 8 pt. font”PDA, Limited Food Establishment application packet · Read Oct 8, 2026
Pennsylvania's Limited Food Establishment rules: the home-made labelPDA, Limited Food Establishment application packet says:“Bakery items made and sold directly to a Commonwealth consumer, by the baker (or their employee), do not require any labeling information directly on the products or any formal display of ingredients; however, ingredient information must be available upon request.”PDA, Limited Food Establishment application packet · Read Oct 8, 2026

How do I get hummus into a store in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania's Limited Food Establishment rules: what applies beyond the home-kitchen rulesPDA, Limited Food Establishment application packet says:“This does not specifically prohibit processing of TCS foods from a residential property, but the foods could only be produced in a second processing kitchen separate from the private home kitchen or any residential/personal use areas (separate entrances/ exits to food processing and storage areas are required), and that meets the full regulatory standards for a food establishment.”PDA, Limited Food Establishment application packet · Read Oct 8, 2026

State registration or license in Pennsylvaniatypically $35 per year. Every registered food establishment Source: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture; checked Sep 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 PennsylvaniaAll of Pennsylvania'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.

Run the free rules check Start free

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