For New York home cooks who want to sell
Selling food from your home kitchen in New York: the plain answer.
Meals from your home kitchen are not permitted anywhere in New York. Approved shelf-stable foods can be, with a free home processor registration. Here is which path is yours.
Start your 25 days free See it work
25 days free. Cancel anytime.
The question
Can I sell what I cook
at home?
You cook for people, not for paperwork. In New York the answer depends on what you make, and for meals it is no.
- Meals, hot food, anything that needs a fridge: New York has no home kitchen meals permit. NYSDOH says it plainly:
Your home kitchen cannot be used
In New York City the Health Code bars a food service permit in a private home or apartment (81.17). - Shelf-stable foods like certain baked goods, jellies and snack mixes: a Home Processor registration with the State Department of Agriculture and Markets. No fee. Sales inside New York only.
- You are the cook, the seller and the bookkeeper, and a missed reading cannot be made up.
First things first
Home processor,
or a separate kitchen?
Two paths. Pick by what you make, then ask the office that covers you.
- Home processor registration. For the foods Agriculture and Markets approves as not potentially hazardous, like certain breads, cookies, jams and snack mixes, made in your home kitchen. You register with the Department of Agriculture and Markets. There is no fee. You sell inside New York only. CleanCleaver does not run that registration, and the app has no home kitchen type in New York.
- A separate permitted kitchen. Meals need a food service establishment permit from your health department. Your home kitchen cannot be used for it. NYSDOH says a separate kitchen located in your residence may be acceptable; ask your health department before you build. With that permit you are a food service establishment, and the app works the way it does for any small kitchen.
- Not sure which? Ask your health department, or in the five boroughs New York City's Health Department, before you sell the first plate.
How to open a food business in your county
Find your path first, free. The app is for the permitted-kitchen path.
With a permitted kitchen
What does New York ask
of a small kitchen?
The same rules as any small kitchen, in plain words, with where each line comes from and where your county differs.
Certified food manager
No statewide manager certificate. In New York City a Food Protection Certificate holder supervises all food work whenever you are open (Health Code 81.15). The online course is free and the exam is paid. Several counties add a certified person: Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, Schenectady, Monroe among them. Ask your health department.
CleanCleaver: If you hold a certificate, the app keeps it and its expiry date.
10 NYCRR 14-1.73; NYC Health Code 81.15
Guide: Health inspectionsDoes your county differ? 12 of New York's 47 health departments do
New York law: no statewide manager certificate. Broome County Health Department: For a new place or a change of owner; within 60 days of the temporary permit if not done before opening. Broome County Health Department, food service
New York law: no statewide manager certificate. Cattaraugus County Health Department: An ANSI-accredited Certified Food Protection Manager course; the verification is good for 5 years. Cattaraugus County Board of Health ordinance (2017, under 14-1.73)
New York law: no statewide manager certificate. Chautauqua County Health Department: One person in management or control completes the county-approved 3-hour course. Chautauqua County Sanitary Code Article XIV
New York law: no statewide manager certificate. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: a certified person in charge whenever food is prepared. NYC Health Code 81.15
New York law: no statewide manager certificate. Livingston County Department of Health: at least one certified person per establishment. Livingston County Sanitary Code Article V
New York law: no statewide manager certificate. Monroe County Department of Public Health: Level 1 Food Manager (5 years) for high and medium risk places; Level 2 Food Handler (3 years) for low risk. Monroe County Department of Public Health, Food Worker Certification (under 14-1.73)
New York law: no statewide manager certificate. Nassau County Department of Health: High-risk places; a second certified manager if open more than 12 hours a day. The county's own certificate (3 years); other certificates aren't accepted. Nassau County Department of Health, Food Protection
New York law: no statewide manager certificate. Orleans County Health Department: Plus a certified food handler or manager present at all operating times. Orleans County food training guidelines
New York law: no statewide manager certificate. Rockland County Department of Health: a certified person in charge whenever food is prepared. Rockland County Sanitary Code, Article VI
New York law: no statewide manager certificate. Schenectady County Public Health Services: at least one certified person per establishment. Schenectady County Sanitary Code Part 125.02
New York law: no statewide manager certificate. Suffolk County Department of Health Services: A person in charge with a valid food protection certificate is present during all hours of operation. Suffolk County Sanitary Code Article 13
New York law: no statewide manager certificate. Tioga County Public Health: The county's Red Card (2 years) or ServSafe, whenever food is prepared and served. Tioga County Public Health, food service establishments
Hot and cold holding
Hot food at 140°F or hotter. Cold food at 45°F or colder under the state rule (10 NYCRR 14-1.40), 41°F in New York City (Health Code 81.09). We recommend 41°F everywhere, so the app's limit is 41°F.
CleanCleaver: Each fridge reading is saved with time and your name. A warm one asks what you did.
New York: 10 NYCRR 14-1.40(a)
Guide: Hot and cold holdingCooling
Cool hot food from 120°F to 70°F in 2 hours, then to 45°F within 4 more (10 NYCRR 14-1.40). The app's clocks run colder: 70°F in 2 hours, 41°F within 6.
CleanCleaver: Start cooling sets the 2-hour and 6-hour timers; each reading is saved with time and name.
New York: 10 NYCRR 14-1.40(b)
Guide: Cooling food in two stages
What else can the inspector check? 2 more rules
Date marking and disposal
Subpart 14-1 has no date-marking rule: we read it and found none. We recommend the FDA Food Code's 7 days (3-501.17) anyway: the day you make it is day 1.
CleanCleaver: The app counts the 7 days and says what to write on the wrap.
FDA Food Code (model) 3-501.17, 3-501.18: not in New York's code, so this line is our advice
Guide: Date marking: the 7-day ruleEmployee health: report, exclude, restrict
Sick? No cooking for sale that day: no one works while sick with an illness that spreads through food (10 NYCRR 14-1.70). A customer sick from your food is reported to your health department within 24 hours (14-1.200).
CleanCleaver: Health questions before you start. The answer is
OK to work
orNo food work today
.New York: 10 NYCRR 14-1.70
Guide: Sick workers: report it and stay home
See the readings on the screen you will use.
A selling day
What does a selling day
with a permit look like?
Open the app to see what is due and what is late.
Check in
A few health questions. The answer is
OK to work
orNo food work today
.Fridge and freezer
Dip the thermometer in ice water, then type the fridge and freezer temperatures. The app's limit is 41°F; New York's state rule is 45°F (10 NYCRR 14-1.40), the city's 41°F.
The cooling clock
New York: 120°F to 70°F within 2 hours, then 45°F within 4 more (10 NYCRR 14-1.40). The app's clocks run colder. Start cooling sets both.
The date on the wrap
Subpart 14-1 sets no date rule; we recommend the Food Code's 7 days (3-501.17), and the day you made it is day 1. The app counts the days.
Kept
The binder PDF starts at the last 90 days.
These readings are on Today from day one, with your name on each.
What is in, what is not
What does CleanCleaver
not do for me?
Here is exactly what is in, and what is not.
- The fridge, cooling and date readings, saved with the time and your name.
- A binder as one PDF, starting at the last 90 days.
- New York's rules, each with its 10 NYCRR section, and where your county or the city adds something.
What stays with others. The home processor registration: that is Agriculture and Markets' program, and we do not run it.
A home kitchen type in the app: New York permits none, so the app offers none here.
The permit application and its fees: ask your health department.
Utah-style 72-hour records: New York has no such rule, so the app does not ask for them.
Home mode is a separate space for household chores. It has no legal records and no binder.
Look at exactly what is in and what is not.
The cost of a gap
What if a reading
is missed?
With a food service permit, you are inspected like any kitchen. A fridge temperature nobody wrote down is a gap the inspector can see.
CleanCleaver does not judge your permit or an inspection. It keeps what you did, with the time and your name.
After the orders
Cook what you love.
The readings are on your phone.
Cook one full week of orders on the free days first.
25 days free. Cancel anytime.
Questions? Call or text (415) 640-1667.
One or two people is Solo, $8 a month per location, and the first 25 days are free.
Questions
Before you
start.
Can I sell meals from my home kitchen in New York?
No. New York has no home kitchen meals permit, in any county. NYSDOH's own page says it. Without the home processor exemption you need a food service establishment permit, and "Your home kitchen cannot be used." In New York City the Health Code bars a food service permit in a private home or apartment (81.17). A separate kitchen located in your residence may be acceptable with a permit; ask your health department.
What is the home processor registration?
A registration with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. It covers foods the department approves as not potentially hazardous, like certain baked goods, jellies and snack mixes, made in your home kitchen. There is no fee. You sell inside New York only. It is not a restaurant permit, and CleanCleaver does not run it; Agriculture and Markets' page has the steps.
I sell meals, not jam. What then?
A food service establishment permit from your health department, for a kitchen that is not your home kitchen. NYSDOH says a separate kitchen located in your residence may be acceptable; a shared commercial kitchen is the other route. Ask your health department what it will accept, and apply at least 21 days before you open (10 NYCRR 14-1.190). Workers' compensation and paid family leave coverage come first.
Do I need a certified food protection manager?
Not statewide. In New York City a Food Protection Certificate holder supervises all food work whenever you are open (Health Code 81.15). Several counties want a certified person: Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, Schenectady and Monroe among them. Ask your health department before you open.
Is Home mode the same as this?
No. Home mode is a separate space for your household: chores, guides and use-by dates. It has no legal records and no binder.
Will it remind me to take the fridge temperature?
In a browser, yes, once you say yes when the app asks. Open the app and Today shows what is due and what is late. It does not send texts.
What does a small kitchen pay?
By the size of your staff list, per location per month: Solo $8 for one or two people, then Small $24, Team $40, Kitchen $69. The 25 free days start when you add a card on Stripe's page. Cancel before they end and you pay nothing. 25 days free. Cancel anytime.
Your binder is ready when the inspector is.
Pick your place. Start with one shift.
Start your 25 days free See it work
25 days free. Cancel anytime.
Questions? Call or text (415) 640-1667