Selling beef jerky in Oregon

Q: Where may food made at home be sold in Oregon?

ODA, 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 September 25, 2026). ODA, 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 September 25, 2026). ODA, 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 September 25, 2026). ODA, 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 September 25, 2026). Oregon 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 September 25, 2026). ShelfStep's summary of the rules and their sources, read September 26, 2026; not legal advice.

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

ODA, 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 September 25, 2026). Oregon 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 September 25, 2026). Oregon 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 September 25, 2026). ShelfStep's summary of the rules and their sources, read September 26, 2026; not legal advice.

Q: Where do I go from here?

How to sell beef jerky to stores. Every step, its reason and its typical cost Selling food made at home in Oregon. All of Oregon'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 What should I charge a store for my product?. 5 min read ShelfStep's summary of the rules and their sources, read September 26, 2026; not legal advice.

Sources last read Sep 26, 2026

What Oregon's own pages say about making beef jerky 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 beef jerky at home in Oregon?

Oregon's own pages, as ShelfStep read them on September 25, 2026, do not name beef jerky 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 beef jerky come under beyond Oregon's?

Outside a home kitchen, ShelfStep's plan reads beef jerky as a meat or poultry product. The plan's own line for it, a default and not a law:

ShelfStep’s plan default, not a lawMeat or poultry (e.g. egg rolls with meat, jerky, sausage): likely USDA-FSIS jurisdiction — federal/state grant of inspection or a co-packer under continuous inspection, the USDA mark of inspection on the label, and cold-chain handling. NOT the FDA path.9 CFR 304 (application for and grant of inspection)

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 beef jerky

Meat inspection and retail stores9 CFR 303.1(d) says:“(d)(1) The requirements of the Act and the regulations in this subchapter for inspection of the preparation of products do not apply to operations of types traditionally and usually conducted at retail stores and restaurants, when conducted at any retail store or restaurant or similar retail-type establishment for sale in normal retail quantities or service of such articles to consumers at such establishments.”9 CFR 303.1(d) · Read Oct 8, 2026
State meat inspection programs9 CFR 321.1(a) says:“to cooperate with any State (including Puerto Rico) or any organized Territory in developing and administering the meat inspection program of such jurisdiction with a view to assuring that it imposes and enforces requirements at least equal to those under Titles I and IV of the Act, with respect to establishments at which products are prepared for use as human food solely for distribution within such jurisdiction”9 CFR 321.1(a) · 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 beef jerky 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 meat or poultry product has 18 steps. The first 6 help you find out where and how beef jerky 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.
Confirm which agency's rules it falls under
Which rules your product falls under decides every step after this one, and only the right authority can say. The plan says likely; this is where someone qualified says for certain.
6.
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.

Every step, with its reason and what it typically costs, is on the beef jerky 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. Confirm which agency's rules it falls under 6. Have the pH and water activity of a finished batch measured 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 beef jerky to storesEvery step, its reason and its typical cost Selling food made at home in OregonAll of Oregon'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 What should I charge a store for my product?5 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.