The essentials
Hawaii, at a glance
Eligible homemade foods are exempt from the ordinary food-establishment permit, but operators still need approved food-safety training, handwashing facilities and compliant labels.
The current rule permits direct and online sales, third-party vendors, delivery, mail and shipping. Some qualifying plant-food pickles and ferments are included. Product-specific conditions remain, including refrigeration for cut-tomato products, separate honey rules and retained inspection authority.
- Training
Operators must complete DOH or DOH-approved food safety training and retain valid completion documentation; ANSI-accredited courses meet the handout requirement.
View official sources (2)
- HAR Chapter11-50 Food Safety Code Hawaii Department of Health
- DOH adopts updates to Food Safety Code Hawaii Department of Health
One step at a time
Your first 3 steps
Check the finished food and preservation method
Start with the current homemade-food definition and January 2026 handout.
Ordinary eligible foods must be non-TCS. Pickled, fermented or acidified plant foods must meet pH of 4.2 or below or water activity strictly below 0.88, with melon-family exclusions. Do not substitute the more familiar 4.6 threshold used in some other states. Cut-tomato foods need refrigeration even when otherwise eligible.
Complete training and prepare the kitchen
Take DOH’s food-safety class or an approved alternative and keep proof of completion.
DOH’s own food-handler course is free and its certificate is valid for three years; check the actual certificate terms for another provider. Maintain a handwashing sink with appropriate cleaning compound whenever preparing food.
Prepare packages and selling arrangements
Package foods in the form in which they will be sold and add all required label information.
Confirm any event organizer’s permit requirement before paying a booth fee. When supplying a restaurant, provide the product label and discuss its written menu disclosure. A permitted sales channel does not change the product’s temperature or processing requirements.
View official sources (3)
- HAR Chapter11-50 Food Safety Code Hawaii Department of Health
- Homemade Food Products Hawaii Department of Health
- Food Safety Education Hawaii Department of Health
Make what you love
Can you sell what you make?
These are examples. Check the complete recipe, preparation method and sales route before offering a product.
Baked goods and plant preserves
Check the conditionsBaked goods without custard or cream fillings and qualifying jams and jellies appear in the current handout.
Plant-only pickles, kimchi and salsa may qualify under the pH or water-activity conditions. The producer is responsible for meeting those conditions; a product name or another seller’s recipe does not establish compliance.
Salsa has an additional cold requirement
Check the conditionsA homemade product containing cut tomatoes must remain at 41°F or below.
Do not advertise a qualifying tomato salsa as shelf stable simply because its pH is low. Consider the required refrigeration when arranging markets, retailer storage and delivery.
Excluded foods and processing
Check the conditionsThe handout excludes dried meats, seafood, dried melons and dried tomatoes.
It also says no vacuum packaging and no canning except jams and jellies. A general permission for pickled vegetables therefore should not be rewritten as permission for any shelf-stable canned vegetable product.
View official sources (2)
- HAR Chapter11-50 Food Safety Code Hawaii Department of Health
- Homemade Food Products Hawaii Department of Health
From your kitchen to your customers
Where and how you can sell
| Selling method | What matters |
|---|---|
| Direct sales and online orders | Direct in-person, telephone and internet sales are allowed for qualifying homemade foods. The handout names fundraisers, craft fairs and farmers markets among possible venues. Check an organizer’s participation requirements and maintain the product’s label and temperature conditions throughout the sale. |
| Delivery, mail and shipping | The adopted rule expressly allows delivery by the operator, an agent or a third-party vendor, as well as mail and shipping. This is a Hawaii permission, not proof of compliance with another state or federal rules. Verify the destination and product requirements before accepting an interstate order, particularly for refrigerated products. |
| Retailers and restaurants | The current handout allows homemade products to be wholesaled to permitted food establishments. If a restaurant uses one in a menu item or offers it on the menu, it needs written homemade-food disclosure and must make the original product label available to patrons on request. The handout separately warns that FDA does not recognize homemade products as an approved source. |
| Honey and hand-pounded poi | Home-based agricultural honey producers remain subject to their separate statute, including the prohibition on selling to a wholesaler. Hand-pounded poi also has separate direct-consumer distribution and labeling provisions. Do not transfer the general homemade-food wholesale or shipping permission to either category without checking its own rules. |
View official sources (3)
- HAR Chapter11-50 Food Safety Code Hawaii Department of Health
- Homemade Food Products Hawaii Department of Health
- DOH adopts updates to Food Safety Code Hawaii Department of Health
Your label, explained
Every field has a purpose.
Use the example to understand the structure. Follow the Hawaii requirements below for your product and sales route.
Your product
name
Your product name and actual net quantity
Your complete recipe and supplier ingredients
Producer name; contact information
The statement for your state, product and sales route
Packaged cottage food · check product-specific additions
A guide to the fields, not a ready-to-print label. Use your actual product and business details.
Name it. Measure it.
Identify your product and its actual net quantity. Check the state’s formatting and unit requirements below.
Use your actual recipe.
Check every ingredient and supplier label. Use the applicable ingredient and allergen declarations for your product.
Identify your operation.
Producer name; contact information
Use the wording for your route.
Requirements can differ by product and sales channel. Keep the disclosure, placement and type-size conditions together.
Illustrative granola package
Use the common or descriptive product name, producer’s name and contact information, and the required home-kitchen statement.
For a multi-ingredient granola, list actual ingredients and subingredients in descending order by weight and identify major allergens, including sesame when present. Copying an example recipe or its allergen line would not describe your own product accurately.
Required home-kitchen statement
Made in a home kitchen not routinely inspected by the Department of Health
Contact information and extra fields
The homemade-food rule asks for the producer’s name and contact information.
It does not list a mandatory home street address or net-weight field in this special label provision. Other rules may apply to a particular transaction; confirm them before using the state’s short field list for broader distribution.
The wording for your label
Packaged cottage food · check product-specific additions
Made in a home kitchen not routinely inspected by the Department of Health
View official sources (1)
- HAR Chapter11-50 Food Safety Code Hawaii Department of Health
A useful head start
Your Hawaii label kit.
Editable template, example label and starting checklist.
Personalize it for your products and business.
Enter your email. Get the files immediately.
Before your first sale
A few details worth getting right.
An example
A pickle seller starts supplying a restaurant
Imagine a trained operator whose plant-only pickle meets the required pH or water activity.
Confirm that the preparation and packaging fit the handout, provide complete labels, and arrange the restaurant’s written disclosure and access to the label for patrons. Adding cut tomatoes changes the temperature requirement. Canning or vacuum sealing cannot be assumed permissible from the wholesale allowance.
Using an old direct-sales-only guide
Hawaii’s August 2025 amendments expanded distribution to third-party vendors and shipping.
Use the current adopted rule and handout when planning channels. An older direct-sales-only description no longer describes the general homemade-food program, although separate honey and hand-pounded poi restrictions remain.
Rounding the water-activity threshold
The adopted definition and current handout require water activity below 0.88.
A result equal to 0.88 does not meet that branch of the test. The pH alternative is 4.2 or below. Keep the actual product and testing method clear rather than rounding a borderline result into compliance.
View official sources (3)
- HAR Chapter11-50 Food Safety Code Hawaii Department of Health
- Homemade Food Products Hawaii Department of Health
- DOH adopts updates to Food Safety Code Hawaii Department of Health
A few more answers
Common questions
Do I need a commercial permit just because my kitchen is on a farm?
Act 110, effective June 8, 2026, says a qualifying farm kitchen is regulated like a home kitchen and cannot require a commercial permit solely because it is on agricultural land. It still must meet the applicable homemade-food requirements and remains subject to DOH oversight. Confirm that your specific kitchen and operation meet those conditions.
View sources for this answer (1)
- Act110, SB3302 CD1, Governor approval Hawaii Legislature and Governor
Is there an annual cottage-food fee or sales ceiling?
The reviewed homemade-food exemption and current handout do not specify an annual sales ceiling or annual cottage-food permit renewal. Training certificate expiry and event requirements remain separate. Check other business and local obligations for the actual operation before concluding that no fees or renewals apply anywhere.
View sources for this answer (3)
- HAR Chapter11-50 Food Safety Code Hawaii Department of Health
- Homemade Food Products Hawaii Department of Health
- Food Safety Education Hawaii Department of Health
Keep it handy
Your first-sale checklist
Use this free checklist to keep track of your next steps. The conditions in this guide still apply.
0 of 3 completed · Restoring progress…
Official guidance
Sources, updates & your next step
Use the current DOH handout and local branch contact
Follow the Food Information page’s current Homemade Food Products link and the Food Safety Education course list. For uncertain foods, testing, a farm kitchen or a planned destination outside Hawaii, contact the relevant Food Safety Branch office with the recipe, process and proposed sales arrangement.
Official sources 5 references
- HAR Chapter11-50 Food Safety Code →
Hawaii Department of Health · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Homemade Food Products →
Hawaii Department of Health · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- DOH adopts updates to Food Safety Code →
Hawaii Department of Health · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Act110, SB3302 CD1, Governor approval →
Hawaii Legislature and Governor · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Food Safety Education →
Hawaii Department of Health · Reviewed September 14, 2026
Guide updates September 14, 2026
Reviewed Hawaii’s product eligibility, sales routes, starting requirements and label guidance against the official sources below. Current conditions and any dated changes are explained in the relevant sections of this guide.
View sources for this update (4)
- HAR Chapter11-50 Food Safety Code Hawaii Department of Health
- Homemade Food Products Hawaii Department of Health
- DOH adopts updates to Food Safety Code Hawaii Department of Health
- Act110, SB3302 CD1, Governor approval Hawaii Legislature and Governor
This guide is a starting point. Confirm requirements for your products and location with the relevant authority. Examples are illustrative and are not a compliance approval.