Whether you’re just getting started with a cottage food business or have been selling homemade products for years, understanding cottage food regulations can be challenging. That’s why Illinois Stewardship Alliance and partners across the state have worked together to update and improve the Illinois Cottage Food Guide.
We’re excited to announce that the newly updated 2026 Illinois Cottage Food Guide is now available in both English and Spanish.
A Collaborative Effort to Support Cottage Food Entrepreneurs
This past winter, Illinois Stewardship Alliance convened public health stakeholders and partners from across Illinois to review current cottage food regulations and identify opportunities to improve guidance for producers.
Our partners at Extension led the effort to redesign the Guide with a more user-friendly format and coordinated the translation of the entire publication into Spanish. These improvements help ensure the Guide is more accessible and useful for cottage food operators throughout Illinois.
The result is a clearer, easier-to-use resource designed to help entrepreneurs navigate regulations, understand food safety requirements, and confidently grow their businesses.
What’s New in the 2026 Guide?
The updated Guide includes new and expanded guidance on a variety of topics, including:
- Frostings, including clarification on frostings containing eggs and cream cheese
- Holding both a retail food establishment license and cottage food registration
- The use of wild mushrooms
- Reusable packaging and when it can be used
- Water bath canning and important food safety considerations
- Selling through pop-up events at retail locations
- Fresh-pressed juice and bottled beverages
- Additional clarifications and updates throughout the Guide
For those interested in the details, you can also review the complete list of updates made to this edition of the Guide. The update list is also available in Spanish too.
Looking Ahead
The Cottage Food Guide is an important tool, but we know there is still work to do.
Illinois Stewardship Alliance is currently working with partners to better understand the challenges cottage food producers face under existing regulations and identify policy solutions that can help businesses thrive while maintaining food safety.
Your experience can help shape that work.
If you’ve encountered barriers, opportunities, or lessons learned while operating a cottage food business, we’d love to hear from you.
Together, we can continue building a food system that supports local entrepreneurs, expands access to local food, and creates new economic opportunities in communities across Illinois.
Good luck growing your cottage food business, and thank you for being part of Illinois’ vibrant local food economy.