Pickles, salsa, hot sauce, canned vegetables, sauerkraut, kimchi
LICENSED FACILITY REQUIRED
Bottom line: Acidified and low-acid canned foods are excluded from Florida's cottage food program by name — this category needs a licensed processing facility and a validated scheduled process, not a home kitchen.
The Path
Even with Florida's broad cottage food exemption, acidified foods (pickles, salsa, hot sauce, fermented and pickled vegetables) and low-acid canned goods (canned green beans, corn, soups) remain expressly outside the definition of a cottage food product under § 500.80. To sell them, you need a licensed commercial food processing facility, a documented "scheduled process" reviewed by a qualified process authority to control pH and time/temperature, and — if selling beyond very local, in-person transactions — FDA registration as an acidified-food (21 CFR 114) or low-acid canned-food (21 CFR 108/113) processor. UF/IFAS's Food Science and Human Nutrition Department publishes the state's standard guidance on this registration process, and the national AFDO directory (afdo.org/foodprocessing) lists process authorities who can validate a recipe.
What You Need
Produce in a licensed commercial food processing facility, not a home kitchen
Have your recipe reviewed by a certified process authority and follow the documented scheduled process
Register with FDA as an acidified or low-acid canned food processor if selling beyond local in-person sales
Obtain an FDACS food establishment permit
Lab-test pH/water activity before any commercial sale
Watch Out For
Cannot register pickles, salsa, hot sauce, sauerkraut, kimchi, or low-acid canned vegetables as cottage food
Don't guess at a safe pH — improperly acidified low-acid canned goods carry real botulism risk
Don't can and sell from a home kitchen, even for a single farmers market table
Citations
Fla. Stat. § 500.80 – excludes acidified, fermented, and low-acid canned products from cottage food
21 CFR Parts 108/113/114 – FDA acidified & low-acid canned foods
Agency contact: FDACS Wholesale Manufactured Food Program · UF/IFAS Food Science & Human Nutrition Dept. (EDIS FSHN19-2)