Selling pesto in Arkansas

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

ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says: “Homemade Non-TCS Foods can be sold: 1. Direct to the informed consumer either in-person, by telephone, or online by the producer of the Homemade Non-TCS Food, by an agent of the producer (i.e. employee, friend, etc.), or by a third-party vendor (i.e. a retail shop or a grocery store).” (ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide, read October 24, 2026). ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says: “Delivery of the product can be by the producer, agent of the producer, third-party vendor, or third-party carrier (mail, parcel post, etc.)” (ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide, read October 24, 2026). ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says: “Within the State of Arkansas or in another state if the seller complies with all federal laws. Homemade Non-TCS Food producers should contact the United States Food and Drug Administration as well as the state and local public health authorities prior to any sale out of state to ensure compliance with any applicable laws or regulations.” (ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide, read October 24, 2026). ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says: “NOTE: Homemade Non0TCS Foods cannot be sold to restaurants for use within the restaurant because Homemade Non-TCS Foods are not from approved sources.” (ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide, read October 24, 2026). ShelfStep's summary of the rules and their sources, read October 24, 2026; not legal advice.

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

ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says: “The statement: "This product was produced in a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens."” (ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide, read October 24, 2026). ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says: “1. The date that the Homemade Non-TCS Food was manufactured, produced, or processed. 2. The name, address, and telephone number of the producer. Producers who do not wish to disclose this information for safety reasons may request an identification number provided by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture to be used instead of this information. (To obtain an ID number, please fill out this form from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture). 3. The common or usual name of the food. 4. The ingredients of the food in descending order of predominance.” (ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide, read October 24, 2026). ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says: “For products offered for sale online, the website must include the above labeling information and the package itself must be labeled.” (ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide, read October 24, 2026). ShelfStep's summary of the rules and their sources, read October 24, 2026; not legal advice.

Q: Where do I go from here?

How to sell pesto to stores. Every step, its reason and its typical cost Selling food made at home in Arkansas. All of Arkansas'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 Arkansas's own pages say about making pesto 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 pesto at home in Arkansas?

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

Arkansas's Food Freedom Act rules: what may be made at homeADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says:“Homemade Non-TCS Food is food or drink products that do not require refrigeration to prevent the growth of disease-causing microorganisms and are processed at the private residence of the producer.”ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide · Read Oct 24, 2026
Arkansas's Food Freedom Act rules: what may be made at homeADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says:“Maple syrup, sorghum, or honey that is produced by a maple syrup, sorghum producer, or beekeeper may be sold. Creamed honey (whipped) and honey flavored with dry non-TCS ingredients (ground cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.) may be sold.”ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide · Read Oct 24, 2026

What rules does pesto come under beyond Arkansas's?

Outside a home kitchen, ShelfStep's plan reads pesto 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 pesto

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 Arkansas?

Arkansas's Food Freedom Act rules: where it may be soldADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says:“Homemade Non-TCS Foods can be sold: 1. Direct to the informed consumer either in-person, by telephone, or online by the producer of the Homemade Non-TCS Food, by an agent of the producer (i.e. employee, friend, etc.), or by a third-party vendor (i.e. a retail shop or a grocery store).”ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide · Read Oct 24, 2026
Arkansas's Food Freedom Act rules: where it may be soldADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says:“Delivery of the product can be by the producer, agent of the producer, third-party vendor, or third-party carrier (mail, parcel post, etc.)”ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide · Read Oct 24, 2026
Arkansas's Food Freedom Act rules: where it may be soldADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says:“Within the State of Arkansas or in another state if the seller complies with all federal laws. Homemade Non-TCS Food producers should contact the United States Food and Drug Administration as well as the state and local public health authorities prior to any sale out of state to ensure compliance with any applicable laws or regulations.”ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide · Read Oct 24, 2026
Arkansas's Food Freedom Act rules: where it may be soldADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says:“NOTE: Homemade Non0TCS Foods cannot be sold to restaurants for use within the restaurant because Homemade Non-TCS Foods are not from approved sources.”ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide · Read Oct 24, 2026

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

Arkansas's Food Freedom Act rules: the home-made labelADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says:“The statement: "This product was produced in a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens."”ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide · Read Oct 24, 2026
Arkansas's Food Freedom Act rules: the home-made labelADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says:“1. The date that the Homemade Non-TCS Food was manufactured, produced, or processed. 2. The name, address, and telephone number of the producer. Producers who do not wish to disclose this information for safety reasons may request an identification number provided by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture to be used instead of this information. (To obtain an ID number, please fill out this form from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture). 3. The common or usual name of the food. 4. The ingredients of the food in descending order of predominance.”ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide · Read Oct 24, 2026
Arkansas's Food Freedom Act rules: the home-made labelADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says:“For products offered for sale online, the website must include the above labeling information and the package itself must be labeled.”ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide · Read Oct 24, 2026

How do I get pesto into a store in Arkansas?

Arkansas's Food Freedom Act rules: what applies beyond the home-kitchen rulesADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says:“Depending on the product sold, a vendor may be required to obtain a permit from the ADH as a Retail Food Establishment or a Food Processing Plant.”ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide · Read Oct 24, 2026
Arkansas's Food Freedom Act rules: what applies beyond the home-kitchen rulesADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide says:“Any TCS food, even if the food is commercially pre-packaged, can only be sold or served from an ADH permitted and inspected facility.”ADH, Arkansas Homemade Food Production Guide · 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 pesto 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 pesto 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 pesto to storesEvery step, its reason and its typical cost Selling food made at home in ArkansasAll of Arkansas'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.