Selling jam in Florida
What Florida's own pages say about making jam 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.
Can I make jam at home in Florida?
Florida's own pages name jam, or foods like it, among what Florida says a home kitchen may make. ShelfStep found these lines by the words they use; whether they cover your product is for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to say. Those lines, as the state writes them:
- Florida's Cottage Food Operation rules: what may be made at homeFDACS, Cottage Foods says:“Approved Cottage Food Products Loaf breads, rolls, biscuits Cakes, pastries and cookies Candies and confections Honey Jams, jellies and preserves Fruit pies and dried fruits Dry herbs, seasonings and mixtures Homemade pasta Cereals, trail mixes and granola Coated or uncoated nuts Vinegar and flavored vinegars Popcorn and popcorn balls”FDACS, Cottage Foods · Read Oct 8, 2026
What rules does jam come under beyond Florida's?
Outside a home kitchen, ShelfStep's plan reads jam as a shelf-stable acid or acidified food. The plan's own line for it, a default and not a law:
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.
- Acidified foods: the definition and its exclusions21 CFR 114.3(b) says:“(b) Acidified foods means low-acid foods to which acid(s) or acid food(s) are added; these foods include, but are not limited to, beans, cucumbers, cabbage, artichokes, cauliflower, puddings, peppers, tropical fruits, and fish, singly or in any combination. They have a water activity (aw) greater than 0.85 and have a finished equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below. ... Carbonated beverages, jams, jellies, preserves, acid foods (including such foods as standardized and nonstandardized food dressings and condiment sauces) that contain small amounts of low-acid food(s) and have a resultant finished equilibrium pH that does not significantly differ from that of the predominant acid or acid food, 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
- The federal standard for jam and preserves21 CFR 150.160(d) says:“(i) In the case of a fruit ingredient consisting of a Group I fruit or a permitted combination exclusively of Group I fruits, 47 parts by weight of the fruit ingredient to each 55 parts by weight of the saccharine ingredient; and (ii) in all other cases, 45 parts by weight of the fruit ingredient to each 55 parts by weight of the saccharine ingredient. ... (5) The soluble-solids content of the finished jam or preserve is not less than 65 percent”21 CFR 150.160(d) · Read Oct 8, 2026
- 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 Florida?
- Florida's Cottage Food Operation rules: where it may be soldFDACS, Cottage Foods says:“Cottage food operators may sell cottage food products on their website, by mail order, and direct to consumer (in person).”FDACS, Cottage Foods · Read Oct 8, 2026
- Florida's Cottage Food Operation rules: where it may be soldFDACS, Cottage Foods says:“Cottage foods must be properly packaged and labeled. Cottage food operators can serve free samples for tasting, but the samples must be prepackaged.”FDACS, Cottage Foods · Read Oct 8, 2026
- Florida's Cottage Food Operation rules: where it may be soldFlorida Statutes §500.80 says:“(2) A cottage food operation may sell, offer for sale, and accept payment for cottage food products over the Internet or by mail order. Such products may be delivered in person directly to the consumer, to a specific event venue, or by United States Postal Service or commercial mail delivery service. A cottage food operation may not sell, offer for sale, or deliver cottage food products at wholesale.”Florida Statutes §500.80 · Read Oct 8, 2026
- Florida's Cottage Food Operation rules: where it may be soldFlorida Statutes §500.80 says:“(4) A cottage food operation may only sell cottage food products that it stores on the premises of the cottage food operation.”Florida Statutes §500.80 · Read Oct 8, 2026
- Florida's Cottage Food Operation rules: a yearly sales ceilingFlorida Statutes §500.80 says:“(1)(a) A cottage food operation must comply with the applicable requirements of this chapter but is exempt from the permitting requirements of s. 500.12 if the cottage food operation complies with this section and has annual gross sales of cottage food products that do not exceed $250,000. (b) For purposes of this subsection, a cottage food operation’s annual gross sales include all sales of cottage food products at any location, regardless of the types of products sold or the number of persons involved in the operation.”Florida Statutes §500.80 · Read Oct 8, 2026
What does Florida say a home-made label must carry?
- Florida's Cottage Food Operation rules: the home-made labelFlorida Statutes §500.80 says:“(3) A cottage food operation may only sell cottage food products which are prepackaged with a label affixed that contains the following information: (a) The name and address of the cottage food operation. (b) The name of the cottage food product. (c) The ingredients of the cottage food product, in descending order of predominance by weight. (d) The net weight or net volume of the cottage food product. (e) Allergen information as specified by federal labeling requirements. (f) If any nutritional claim is made, appropriate nutritional information as specified by federal labeling requirements.”Florida Statutes §500.80 · Read Oct 8, 2026
- Florida's Cottage Food Operation rules: the home-made labelFlorida Statutes §500.80 says:“(3) A cottage food operation may only sell cottage food products which are prepackaged with a label affixed that contains the following information: ... (g) The following statement printed in at least 10-point type in a color that provides a clear contrast to the background of the label: “Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida’s food safety regulations.””Florida Statutes §500.80 · Read Oct 8, 2026
How do I get jam into a store in Florida?
- Florida's Cottage Food Operation rules: what applies beyond the home-kitchen rulesFlorida Statutes §500.80 says:“(1)(a) A cottage food operation must comply with the applicable requirements of this chapter but is exempt from the permitting requirements of s. 500.12 if the cottage food operation complies with this section and has annual gross sales of cottage food products that do not exceed $250,000.”Florida Statutes §500.80 · Read Oct 8, 2026
From there, ShelfStep's standard plan for a shelf-stable acid or acidified food has 18 steps. The first 6 help you find out where and how jam 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.
- 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 jam 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.