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Selling juice in South Carolina

Sources last read Oct 24, 2026

What South Carolina's own pages say about making juice at home, each line linked, and the path to a store when you want one to stock it.

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A sketch of Juice in its bottle.
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 juice at home in South Carolina?

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

  • South Carolina's Home-Based Food Production Operation rules: what may not be made at homeSCDA, Home-Based Food Production (Cottage Law) flyer says:“FOODS NOT ALLOWED* • Time/temperature controlled for safety foods (e.g. casseroles, meats, seafood, or ice cream) • Bottled beverages • Cheesecake • Charcuterie boards • Hot sauce and BBQ sauce”SCDA, Home-Based Food Production (Cottage Law) flyer · Read Oct 24, 2026

What rules does juice come under beyond South Carolina's?

Outside a home kitchen, ShelfStep's plan reads juice as a beverage. The plan's own line for it, a default and not a law:

ShelfStep’s plan default, not a lawBeverages: their own FDA rules (juice HACCP, etc.).21 CFR 120.1

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 juice
  • Juice and the juice HACCP rule21 CFR 120.1(a) says:“(a) Any juice sold as such or used as an ingredient in beverages shall be processed in accordance with the requirements of this part.”21 CFR 120.1(a) · Read Oct 8, 2026
  • Juice HACCP and retail establishments21 CFR 120.3(j) and (l) says:“(2) For purposes of this part, processing does not include: (i) Harvesting, picking, or transporting raw agricultural ingredients of juice products, without otherwise engaging in processing; and (ii) The operation of a retail establishment. ... (l) Retail establishment is an operation that provides juice directly to the consumers and does not include an establishment that sells or distributes juice to other business entities as well as directly to consumers.”21 CFR 120.3(j) and (l) · 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 South Carolina?

  • South Carolina's Home-Based Food Production Operation rules: where it may be soldSCDA, Home-Based Food Production (Cottage Law) flyer says:“Home-based food may be served or used as an ingredient in a retail food establishment (restaurant) with a variance approved by SCDA.”SCDA, Home-Based Food Production (Cottage Law) flyer · Read Oct 24, 2026
  • South Carolina's Home-Based Food Production Operation rules: where it may be soldSouth Carolina Code of Laws §46-57-20 says:“(E) Home-based food operations only may sell, or offer to sell, food items directly to a person, including online and by mail order, or to retail stores, including grocery stores.”South Carolina Code of Laws §46-57-20 · Read Oct 24, 2026
  • South Carolina's Home-Based Food Production Operation rules: where it may be soldSouth Carolina Code of Laws §46-57-20 says:“Any retail stores, including grocery stores, that sell or offer to sell home-based food products must post clearly visible signage indicating that home-based food products are not subject to commercial food regulations.”South Carolina Code of Laws §46-57-20 · Read Oct 24, 2026

What does South Carolina say a home-made label must carry?

  • South Carolina's Home-Based Food Production Operation rules: the home-made labelSCDA, Home-Based Food Production (Cottage Law) flyer says:“The allergen statement must list each major allergen by name or include a disclaimer that the food may contain any major allergen. ... If a home-based food item contains tree nuts, the specific type must be labeled in the allergen statement (e.g., walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc.). ... No health claims may be made in association with foods produced in a home-based food operation.”SCDA, Home-Based Food Production (Cottage Law) flyer · Read Oct 24, 2026
  • South Carolina's Home-Based Food Production Operation rules: the home-made labelSouth Carolina Code of Laws §46-57-20 says:“(4) a conspicuous statement printed in all capital letters and in a color that provides a clear contrast to the background that reads: "NOT FOR RESALE PROCESSED AND PREPARED BY A HOME-BASED FOOD PRODUCTION OPERATION THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO SOUTH CAROLINA'S FOOD SAFETY REGULATIONS."”South Carolina Code of Laws §46-57-20 · Read Oct 24, 2026
  • South Carolina's Home-Based Food Production Operation rules: the home-made labelSouth Carolina Code of Laws §46-57-20 says:“(D) All food items packaged at the operation for sale must be properly labeled. The label must comply with federal laws and regulations and must include: (1) the name and address of the home-based food production operation; (2) the name of the product being sold; (3) the ingredients used to make the product in descending order of predominance by weight; and”South Carolina Code of Laws §46-57-20 · Read Oct 24, 2026

How do I get juice into a store in South Carolina?

  • South Carolina's Home-Based Food Production Operation rules: what applies beyond the home-kitchen rulesSCDA, Home-Based Food Production (Cottage Law) flyer says:“Making any food item that is not allowed will require a permit.”SCDA, Home-Based Food Production (Cottage Law) flyer · Read Oct 24, 2026

From there, ShelfStep's standard plan for a beverage has 19 steps. The first 6 help you find out where and how juice can be made at all, so they come first:

  1. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 juice page:

1. Write the recipe down with exact amounts2. Decide how it is kept: on a shelf, in the fridge or frozen3. Find out where you are allowed to make it for sale4. Have the pH and water activity of a finished batch measured5. Get a Process Authority's letter on how it is made safe6. Look into FDA registration7. Choose the container and what seals it8. Shortlist three co-packers or commercial kitchens9. Work out what one batch, and one unit, costs to make10. Set up lot codes and a recall plan11. Make a first full-size batch12. Find out how long it keeps13. Get barcodes14. Draft the label with everything it has to say15. Set the wholesale and shelf price from the cost16. Sell it at a market before you scale17. Get product liability insurance18. Make the one-page sheet a buyer reads19. Name your first three stores

Where do I go from here?

How to sell juice to storesEvery step, its reason and its typical costSelling food made at home in South CarolinaAll of South Carolina's lines, what you may make, register and outgrow
How do I find and choose a co-packer?5 min readHow do I work out my shelf life and best-by date?4 min readDo I need to register with the FDA to sell my food product?4 min read

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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.