Virginia Cottage Food Law

Authorizes the home production and direct sale of "pickles and other acidified vegetables that have an equilibrium pH value of 4.6 or lower" — pickles, salsa, hot sauce, chow-chow, relish, pickled jalapeños, pickled onions, sauerkraut produced by acidification rather than spontaneous fermentation. The exemption applies only if total gross sales of acidified products do not exceed $9,000 in a calendar year. The $9,000 cap replaced the prior $3,000 cap under HB 759 (2024, effective July 1, 2024). Crossing the cap by one dollar drops the producer into the full federal FDA acidified-foods regulatory framework under 21 CFR Part 114: Better Process Control School, recipe-specific Process Authority Letter, FDA food facility registration, scheduled process filing, per-batch pH verification with calibrated meter, and typically VDACS food establishment licensure. Front-end compliance investment: $1,500–$3,000 plus three to six months of process work. The cap is product-specific and does not stack against the (A)(3) general exemption — a baker can sell unlimited cookies AND up to $9,000 of pickles simultaneously, under two separate exemptions.

Authorizes the home sale of honey from the producer's personal hives, capped at less than 250 gallons annually. Requires the additional label statement "PROCESSED AND PREPARED WITHOUT STATE INSPECTION. WARNING: Do Not Feed Honey to Infants Under One Year Old." The 250-gallon cap is a separate exemption from the (A)(3) general exemption and the (A)(4) acidified-vegetables exemption — a producer may operate under all three simultaneously.

HB 759, effective July 1, 2024, clarified and expanded the temporary-events authorization to cover events operating for "no more than 14 consecutive days" — interpreted by VDACS to include festivals, craft shows, holiday pop-ups, county fairs, church bazaars, and similar temporary venues. The amendment also raised the acidified-vegetables sub-cap from $3,000 to $9,000 and modernized the (A)(3) food list to explicitly include dried pasta, dry baking mixes, roasted coffee, dried tea, cereals, trail mixes, and granola.

Does Virginia have a cottage food law?

Not by that name. Virginia's home-kitchen framework is the Home Food Processing Exemption under VA Code § 3.2-5130, administered by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS). The statute does not use the words "cottage food" — it exempts certain home-kitchen producers from the inspection and licensure requirements that would otherwise apply to anyone selling food in Virginia. Functionally it is what other states call cottage food, but the structure differs in two important ways: there is no general revenue cap (unusual among populous states), and there is a separate $9,000 annual sub-cap that applies only to acidified vegetable products like pickles, salsa, and hot sauce.

Is there a revenue cap on Virginia cottage food sales?

There is no general cap. A producer making non-acidified baked goods, candies, jams, jellies, dried products, vinegars, and the other foods enumerated in VA Code § 3.2-5130(A)(3) can sell at any annual revenue level under the Home Food Processing Exemption — no statutory ceiling, no transition trigger based on revenue alone. The only revenue ceiling in the statute applies to a narrow subset of foods: acidified vegetable products with an equilibrium pH of 4.6 or lower (pickles, sauerkraut, hot sauce, salsa, chow-chow, relish), which are capped at $9,000 in gross annual sales under VA Code § 3.2-5130(A)(4). Honey from personal hives has a separate 250-gallon annual cap under (A)(5).

Why is the acidified-foods cap $9,000 in some sources and $3,000 in others?

Because the law changed in 2024 and many third-party summaries still quote the pre-amendment figure. The original Home Food Processing Exemption capped acidified vegetable products at $3,000 per year. Virginia HB 759, signed in 2024 and effective July 1, 2024 (codified as 2024 Chapter 131), raised the acidified sub-cap to $9,000 and also expanded the list of authorized sales venues. If a source still says $3,000, it has not been updated since mid-2024. The current statutory number is $9,000.

What happens if I exceed the $9,000 acidified-foods cap?

The Home Food Processing Exemption no longer covers the producer's acidified-food production, and the producer becomes subject to the full federal FDA acidified-foods regulatory framework under 21 CFR Part 114. That means: registering the kitchen as an FDA food facility (free but mandatory, FDA Form 3537); completing Better Process Control School ($300–$500); securing a Process Authority Letter for each acidified recipe ($150–$500); filing a scheduled process for each acidified food with FDA (Form 2541e); maintaining per-batch pH verification logs; and operating under VDACS oversight as a regulated food manufacturing facility. Front-end compliance investment: $1,500–$3,000 plus three to six months of process work.

Where can I sell Virginia cottage food legally?

Under the Home Food Processing Exemption, sales are authorized at the producer's private residence, at farmers markets, and at temporary events that operate for no more than 14 consecutive days. HB 759 (2024) clarified and expanded the temporary-event authorization to cover festivals, craft shows, and pop-up venues. Internet advertising is permitted, but the sale itself must occur in person at one of the authorized venues — Virginia does not authorize mail-order shipping, common-carrier delivery, or out-of-state sales under the exemption. Sales to retail stores, restaurants, distributors, or other wholesale buyers for resale are not authorized.

What goes on a Virginia cottage food label?

For non-acidified foods under § 3.2-5130(A)(3), the label must display the name, physical address, and telephone number of the person preparing the food, the date the product was processed, and the statement "NOT FOR RESALE — PROCESSED AND PREPARED WITHOUT STATE INSPECTION." Acidified vegetable products under (A)(4) require the same elements. Honey from personal hives under (A)(5) requires "PROCESSED AND PREPARED WITHOUT STATE INSPECTION. WARNING: Do Not Feed Honey to Infants Under One Year Old." Standard federal FDA allergen disclosure under FALCPA and the FASTER Act (nine major allergens) applies on top of the state disclaimer. The disclaimer text may not be paraphrased.

Do I need a permit, kitchen inspection, or food handler training in Virginia?

No, no, and no — for producers operating within the exemption. The Home Food Processing Exemption does not require a permit from VDACS, does not require a pre-operational kitchen inspection, does not require ServSafe or equivalent food handler certification at the state level, and does not require annual registration. There is no fee. Local jurisdictions (counties, cities) may add their own business license, sales-tax, or zoning requirements separately — those are not part of the state-level exemption.

Can I sell hot sauce or salsa at a Virginia farmers market under the exemption?

Yes, as long as the product is an acidified vegetable product with an equilibrium pH of 4.6 or lower and the producer's total gross sales of acidified products stay under $9,000 per calendar year. The exemption explicitly covers pickles and other acidified vegetables under § 3.2-5130(A)(4) — a category that VDACS interprets to include salsas (pH-controlled), hot sauces (vinegar-based), chow-chow, relishes, pickled jalapeños, pickled onions, sauerkraut produced by acidification rather than fermentation, and similar products. Fermented vegetable products without added acid (some traditional sauerkraut, kimchi) are NOT covered by (A)(4) and fall outside the exemption entirely.

How does Virginia compare to its neighbors?

Virginia's framework is structurally unusual in the mid-Atlantic. It is more permissive than North Carolina on the inspection question (NC requires a pre-operational inspection of every home processor) but less permissive on acidified foods (NC allows acidified products with no revenue sub-cap, under federal 21 CFR 114 compliance). It is more permissive than Maryland on revenue but less permissive on venue. It is broadly comparable to West Virginia on inspection (neither requires one) but VA has no general cap where WV has a $25,000 ceiling. The single feature that sets Virginia apart is the $9,000 acidified-foods sub-cap — no neighboring state has a product-category-specific revenue cap inside its home-kitchen framework.