Selling pesto in Utah

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

UDAF, Cottage Food Production says: “Products may only be sold within Utah Products may be sold direct-to-the-consumer or to stores for resale” (UDAF, Cottage Food Production, read October 24, 2026). UDAF, Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act says: “Products may only be sold within Utah Products must be sold in-person, directly to the final end consumer at a prearranged or agreed upon location only for their personal or home consumption Products are not for resale (products cannot be sold to retail stores or restaurants)” (UDAF, Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act, read October 24, 2026). UDAF, Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act says: “If selling at a farmers market, the only locations where products made under the Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act can be displayed and offered for sale are: at a direct-to-sale farmers market OR in a separate market section specifically displaying signs that read, “Food items offered for sale in this section of the farmers market are homemade and have not been certified, licensed, regulated or inspected by state or local authorities.”” (UDAF, Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act, read October 24, 2026). ShelfStep's summary of the rules and their sources, read October 24, 2026; not legal advice.

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

UDAF, Cottage Food Production says: “Products must meet labeling requirements listing the name of food, complete list of ingredients, net quantity, allergens, name and contact information of the business, and “Home Produced”” (UDAF, Cottage Food Production, read October 24, 2026). UDAF, Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act says: “Products must meet labeling requirements including a disclaimer stating “Not for Resale – Processed and prepared without the benefit of state or local inspection” AND an allergen list” (UDAF, Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act, 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 Utah. All of Utah'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 Utah'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 Utah?

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

Utah, registered cottage food production: what may not be made at homeUDAF, Cottage Food Production says:“Cottage Food registration does NOT allow the sale of foods that require refrigeration for safety or products considered high-risk or potentially hazardous. Examples of products that are NOT allowed: Refrigerated or frozen food Products that contain meat or poultry Cheesecakes, custards, etc. Other canned, high-risk, or potentially hazardous foods”UDAF, Cottage Food Production · Read Oct 24, 2026

What rules does pesto come under beyond Utah'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 Utah?

Utah, registered cottage food production: where it may be soldUDAF, Cottage Food Production says:“Products may only be sold within Utah Products may be sold direct-to-the-consumer or to stores for resale”UDAF, Cottage Food Production · Read Oct 24, 2026
Utah, the Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act: where it may be soldUDAF, Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act says:“Products may only be sold within Utah Products must be sold in-person, directly to the final end consumer at a prearranged or agreed upon location only for their personal or home consumption Products are not for resale (products cannot be sold to retail stores or restaurants)”UDAF, Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act · Read Oct 24, 2026
Utah, the Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act: where it may be soldUDAF, Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act says:“If selling at a farmers market, the only locations where products made under the Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act can be displayed and offered for sale are: at a direct-to-sale farmers market OR in a separate market section specifically displaying signs that read, “Food items offered for sale in this section of the farmers market are homemade and have not been certified, licensed, regulated or inspected by state or local authorities.””UDAF, Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act · Read Oct 24, 2026

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

Utah, registered cottage food production: the home-made labelUDAF, Cottage Food Production says:“Products must meet labeling requirements listing the name of food, complete list of ingredients, net quantity, allergens, name and contact information of the business, and “Home Produced””UDAF, Cottage Food Production · Read Oct 24, 2026
Utah, the Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act: the home-made labelUDAF, Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act says:“Products must meet labeling requirements including a disclaimer stating “Not for Resale – Processed and prepared without the benefit of state or local inspection” AND an allergen list”UDAF, Home Consumption and Homemade Food Act · Read Oct 24, 2026

How do I get pesto into a store in Utah?

Utah's Cottage Food Production rules: what applies beyond the home-kitchen rulesUDAF, Manufactured Food says:“The Manufactured Food Regulatory Program (MFRP) regulates products that are manufactured and/or distributed, sold to other businesses, or sold or shipped to other states or countries. ... All prospective, converted, or remodeled food establishments must complete and submit a plan review application at least thirty (30) calendar days prior to operating.”UDAF, Manufactured Food · 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 UtahAll of Utah'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.