Category: Cooperative Extension
Food Safety Workshops for Food Entrepreneurs
August 28, 2026 Written by: Adrienne Shearer, Assistant Professor of Food Science, University of Delaware
There are two food entrepreneur programs in Delaware that provide opportunities for Delaware residents to become licensed to prepare certain commercial food products in their home kitchens.
These two programs include the Cottage Food Establishment (CFE) program, which is administered by the DE Division of Public Health (DPH), and the On-Farm Kitchen Program, which is administered by the Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA). Both programs allow for preparation of certain shelf stable foods that are considered to have reduced food safety risks based on preservation strategies that include high acidity (reduced pH value) and limited available water content to help prevent growth of foodborne bacteria that can cause illness. Examples of foods that can be prepared in a licensed home kitchen and sold in Delaware include certain baked breads, muffins, cookies, jams, jellies, and other snacks that meet the standards to be considered non-time/temperature controlled for food safety (DPH) or non-potentially hazardous foods (DDA). More complete lists of allowable foods are available through DPH and DDA. Foods that require refrigeration for safety are not permitted through either of these programs.
Both the CFE and On-Farm Kitchens programs require food safety training and successful completion of a food safety certification exam prior to application for licensure. The University of Delaware Cooperative Extension Health and Well-being team provides food safety training to help entrepreneurs become eligible to apply for licensure to sell food under these programs and the retraining needed to maintain eligibility after initial licensure.
There are two workshops that UD Cooperative Extension offers that can satisfy the food safety training and certification requirements for the CFE and On-Farm Kitchens Programs.
The Entrepreneur Food Safety Workshop includes foundational food safety information with these concepts applied to the home kitchen and requirements of these programs. Topics include the basics of food safety, identifying potential risks, food handling, facilities, labeling, and record keeping. The workshop is currently offered twice a year, in person, at the UD Cooperative Extension office in Dover in Kent County. The eight-hour workshop is held over two evenings and concludes with a certification exam. This workshop and certification are good only for the CFE and On-Farm Kitchen programs in DE. The Entrepreneur Food Safety Workshop does not satisfy the training requirements for safe food handling in restaurants.
The ServSafe® Food Safety Training Program of the National Restaurant Association can also satisfy the requirements of food safety training and certification for CFE and On-Farm Kitchens programs. The UD Cooperative Extension Health and Well-being team offers this workshop nearly monthly at Cooperative Extension offices in New Castle, Kent, and Sussex counties on a rotational basis. This workshop covers the basics of food safety as applied primarily to the restaurant sector. This one-day, in-person workshop is approximately eight hours in length and concludes with a certification exam. This workshop and certification exam can satisfy the requirements for individuals working in the restaurant industry as well as the residential setting for CFE and On-Farm Kitchens programs in Delaware.
For more information on these entrepreneur programs, please visit:
Delaware Division of Public Health Cottage Food Establishment Program
https://dhss.delaware.gov/dph/homepage/about/sections/hsp/cfe/
Delaware Department of Agriculture On-Farm Kitchens Program
https://agriculture.delaware.gov/food-products-inspection/on-farm-kitchens/
For more information on upcoming workshops and the opportunity to register online, please visit the following URL:
https://www.udel.edu/academics/colleges/canr/cooperative-extension/nutrition-wellness/food-safety/.