Cottage Food Sampling

Can a vendor offer shoppers samples of their cottage food products at the farmers market?

Yes, as long as the sample is a non-potentially hazardous food, sampling is allowed. A few additional reminders and considerations:

  • The samples cannot contain additional ingredients that require time or temperature control. An example of this would be adding cream cheese to a dry dip mix or adding yogurt to granola.
  • Safe food sampling guidelines must be followed, as with any other food sample.
  • A label for the product being sampled should be available for customers to review.
  • Cottage foods can not be used in cooking demonstrations by the market.
MDARD Cottage Food Landing Page