Cottage Food Q& A

A: No. Packaged, freshly-squeezed juice is not allowed under the cottage food exemption and would require a license. Juice produced from fruits and vegetables can only be sold under the cottage food law exemption, if there is a pasteurization step of the juice product. There have been numerous cases of people getting sick and even dying from unpasteurized juices. Even though the pH of a type of juice may be 4.6 or below, this is not sufficient protection from pathogens that may be present on the produce or introduced during handling or making the juice. The sale of pasteurized juice--heating the juice to 160 degrees F for six seconds, while stirring constantly--is allowed under the cottage food law with the requirement that a description of the pasteurization process – verbal or in writing – needs to be available to the consumer at the point of sale. Pasteurized juice, without a home canning step, should be refrigerated or frozen for quality. An alternative to pasteurization is canning