Cottage Goods Shipping Guide
This guide walks you through shipping cottage food orders on FarmSource — bakery items, jams, candies, granola, dry mixes, and other non-potentially hazardous foods produced under Ohio’s Cottage Food Law. It covers order review, packing standards, labeling, temperature protection for heat-sensitive items, carrier handoff, and the simplified customer pickup flow.
This piece is for you if you’re a licensed Ohio cottage food producer selling through FarmSource and you want a single reference for what compliant shipping actually looks like — from confirming an order is going to an Ohio address, to packing weighted items within the 10% tolerance FarmSource requires, to knowing when you can skip the gel pack. Every step is tied to the underlying Ohio Revised Code or Ohio Administrative Code citation so you know exactly why the rule exists.
Key takeaways
- Ohio-only shipping: You may only ship cottage food products to addresses within Ohio (ORC 3715.025, OAC 901:3-20-04(F)). Confirm the shipping address before printing a label.
- Labeling: Every package must display the full cottage food label — producer name and address, product name, net weight in U.S. and metric units, ingredients in descending order by weight, allergen declaration, and the statement “This product is home produced.”
- Primary containers: Every item goes in its own sealed primary container. Dry goods need a locking seal or closure; pastries need a locking lid or a lid sealed with dedicated packing tape.
- Temperature-sensitive items: Chocolates, frosted items, and butter-based candies need a 3 oz or 6 oz pre-frozen gel pack plus an insulated bubble liner before going into the outer box.
- 10% weight tolerance: Any item advertised by weight must fall within 10% of the advertised weight on a calibrated scale — an 8 oz product must weigh between 7.2 and 8.8 oz.
- Customer pickup — simplified flow: Pickup orders don’t need a shipping label, and if your designated pickup area is cool, insulated, and secure, you can skip the gel packs, insulated liner, kraft fill, and outer box. Individual sealed primary containers are still required.