Selling Jams, Chutneys, and Preserves at Craft Fairs: What the Law Requires

You are a food business

The moment you make jams, chutneys, pickles, or preserves for sale, even occasionally, even alongside non-food crafts at a stall, you are legally operating a food business. This means you must:

• Register with your local council's environmental health department at least 28 days before you start trading. Registration is free. See our Registering a Food Business guide for the full process.
• Comply with food hygiene regulations, including having an appropriate food preparation environment.
• Have a documented food safety management system based on HACCP principles (more on this below).

There is no exemption for small-scale or hobbyist producers. If you sell it, you must comply.

The Jam and Similar Products Regulations 2003

This is the product-specific legislation that catches most people out. The Jam and Similar Products (England) Regulations 2003 (with equivalent regulations for Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) set legal definitions, called "reserved descriptions", for what can and cannot be called "jam," "extra jam," "jelly," "extra jelly," "marmalade," and "marmalade jelly." You can only use these names if your product meets the specific composition requirements.

**Minimum fruit content:**

• Standard jam: at least 350g of fruit per 1000g of finished product (35%).
• Extra jam: at least 450g of fruit per 1000g (45%).
• Some fruits (e.g. blackcurrants, quinces) have lower minimums. Schedule 1 of the regulations sets out the full composition requirements.

**Minimum sugar content:**

• A product must contain a minimum of approximately 60% total soluble solids (effectively sugar content) to be described as jam or marmalade. Products below this threshold cannot legally use those reserved descriptions.

**Mandatory jam-specific label declarations:**

• In addition to standard food labelling, labels on jams and similar products must include two specific statements: "prepared with Xg of fruit per 100g" and "total sugar content Yg per 100g." These are calculated from the recipe, not from laboratory testing.

Note: chutneys and pickles do not fall under the Jam and Similar Products Regulations; those only cover sweet preserves. However, chutneys and pickles are still subject to all general food safety, labelling, and HACCP requirements.

HACCP: your food safety management system

A documented food safety management system based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) principles is required by law for all food businesses, including home preservers.

For jams and preserves, the key hazards you must document and control are:

• **Clostridium botulinum**: the most serious risk. This spore-forming bacterium thrives in sealed, low-oxygen environments, which is exactly what a sealed jar provides. It produces a toxin that causes botulism, which can be fatal. The spores are widely present in the environment and may be in your fruit and vegetables. Controls: ensuring sufficient sugar content (above 60% for jams), achieving correct pH (4.5 or below for chutneys and pickles), reaching setting point temperature (105°C for jam), and proper jar sterilisation.
• **Moulds and yeasts**: can form if jars are not properly sterilised, if lids are not sealed while the product is still hot, or if moisture is present in the jar before filling.
• **Physical contamination**: cracked or chipped jars, stones or insects from fruit, foreign objects.
• **Chemical contamination**: cleaning chemicals, allergens from shared equipment.

The FSA's Safer Food, Better Business pack is designed for small food businesses and can help structure your HACCP documentation.

Chutneys and pickles: pH is critical

While chutneys and pickles do not fall under the Jam Regulations, they have their own critical safety requirement: pH.

The product must have a pH of 4.5 or below throughout its shelf life to prevent C. botulinum growth. If pH cannot be guaranteed below 4.5 (or water activity below 0.9), the product must be stored refrigerated with a maximum shelf life of 10 days.

Vinegar content, sugar content, and salt content all contribute to preservation, but pH is the primary measurable control. Invest in pH testing strips or a pH meter. They are cheap and essential.

Glass jar requirements

Jars and lids have specific legal requirements that many home preservers overlook:

• Jars must be food-safe; look for the wine glass and fork symbol or "for food contact" marking. This is required under EC Regulations 1935/2004 and 2023/2006 on materials intended to come into contact with food.
• **Jars must be new every time.** You cannot reuse jars from previous batches or accept returned jars from customers, however environmentally friendly your intentions. Each jar of product sold must be in a brand-new jar.
• Lids must be new and undamaged; a damaged or poorly fitting lid will not form a proper vacuum seal, which is a food safety issue.
• Jars must be sterilised before use. Methods include: oven sterilisation (160°C for 10 minutes), hot cycle of a dishwasher, or immersion in hot water above 90°C for 10 minutes. Jars must be fully dry before filling.
• Lids must be fitted immediately after filling, while the product is still hot, to form a vacuum seal.

Labelling requirements

In addition to any jam-specific declarations, every jar you sell must have a label showing:

• Name of the food (must comply with the reserved descriptions if applicable).
• Ingredients list in descending order by weight.
• Allergen declarations emphasised within the ingredients list; this is the Natasha's Law requirement if the product is pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS).
• Net weight in grams.
• Best before date or use by date.
• Name and address of the food business operator.
• Batch number or lot mark (for traceability, so you can identify and recall a specific production run if needed).
• Storage conditions (e.g. "store in a cool, dry place; refrigerate after opening").
• Any additives declared by category name: particularly important if using ingredients containing sulphur dioxide (common in dried apricots used in chutneys, and it is a declarable allergen).

The term "organic" must not be used unless you are officially organic certified.

Shelf life

Determining an appropriate shelf life for your product is important and should be supported by your HACCP documentation.

• For high-sugar jams (60%+ sugar), a best before date of 12 months from production is typical, but this should be based on evidence, not guesswork.
• For chutneys and pickles, shelf life depends on pH, sugar content, vinegar content, and storage conditions. Without laboratory analysis, err on the side of caution.
• Once opened, most preserves should be refrigerated and consumed within a few weeks; state this on the label.

Unless you have undertaken independent laboratory analysis, it is difficult to determine shelf life precisely. When in doubt, shorter is safer.

Weights and measures

• The net weight on the label must be accurate. It is a criminal offence to sell food that weighs less than the label states.
• Since 2009, there are no longer restrictions on the sizes of jars that jam can be sold in; you can use any size. However, standard sizes (454g, 340g, 227g, 113g) remain conventional.
• Your weighing equipment should be accurate and regularly checked.

Two inspection regimes: EHO and Trading Standards

Most food sellers at craft fairs only ever deal with Environmental Health Officers (EHO). Preserve makers should expect inspections from both EHO and Trading Standards, and it is important to understand that these are separate bodies checking different things.

**Environmental Health (EHO)** inspects your food hygiene practices: your preparation environment, cleaning procedures, temperature controls, pest management, and whether you have a documented food safety management system. This is the standard food hygiene inspection that all food businesses receive.

**Trading Standards** inspects your product compliance: whether your labelling is accurate and legally correct, whether your use of reserved descriptions ("jam," "marmalade") is backed by the correct composition, whether your batch records support your claims, and whether your weights and measures are accurate. For preserve makers, this is a much more detailed and rigorous inspection than the EHO visit. Trading Standards officers can and do visit your home production environment, examine your recipes and production records, verify that your fruit content percentages match what your labels claim, check batch traceability, and assess whether your HACCP documentation covers the product-specific hazards for preserves.

Do not assume that passing an EHO inspection means you are fully compliant. EHO inspections focus on food safety and hygiene. Trading Standards inspections go further into product composition, labelling accuracy, and compliance with the Jam and Similar Products Regulations. Many preserve makers who have been through both report that the Trading Standards inspection is considerably more thorough.

What would Trading Standards ask to see?

Trading Standards officers have the power to enter premises, inspect products, and require production of documents under Schedule 5 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015. They can also make test purchases and take samples (Business Companion: Trading Standards powers).

Specifically, they can ask to see:

• **Your food business registration confirmation.** Evidence you registered with your local council at least 28 days before first trading.
• **Your HACCP documentation.** Must cover product-specific hazards: Clostridium botulinum risk in sealed jars, pH control for chutneys and pickles, and jar sterilisation procedures.
• **Recipe and production records.** Must support the fruit content and sugar content declarations on your labels. If your label says "prepared with 45g of fruit per 100g" (extra jam), your records must show that is accurate.
• **Batch traceability records.** Trace any specific jar back to a specific production batch, including ingredient suppliers and dates.
• **pH testing records** (for chutneys and pickles). Evidence that pH is consistently at or below 4.5.
• **Net weight verification records.** Under the Weights and Measures Act 1985, selling food that weighs less than the stated label weight is a criminal offence. Trading Standards can weigh products on the spot.
• **Your labels**, checked against the full requirements of the Jam and Similar Products (England) Regulations 2003, including the mandatory "prepared with Xg of fruit per 100g" and "total sugar content Yg per 100g" declarations, allergen information, batch/lot marks, and storage instructions.

Trading Standards can inspect you at any time, including unannounced visits to your home if that is where you produce. They are thorough, and the inspection will cover ground that an EHO inspection does not touch. Having your recipe records, batch traceability, and pH logs organised and accessible is the difference between a smooth inspection and a stressful one. **Your StallSync Event Passport can hold your food business registration, HACCP summary, and batch records alongside your other compliance documents.**

Practical checklist before your first sale

Before you sell a single jar at a craft fair, make sure you have:

• Registered as a food business with your local council at least 28 days before trading.
• Written a HACCP-based food safety management plan for your production process.
• Checked your recipes against the Jam and Similar Products Regulations (if applicable) to confirm you can legally use reserved descriptions like "jam" or "marmalade."
• Designed compliant labels with all required information, including jam-specific declarations and allergens.
• Sourced new, food-safe jars and lids for every batch.
• Invested in a jam thermometer (for setting point) and pH testing strips or a pH meter (for chutneys and pickles).
• Set up a batch recording system: what you made, when, which ingredients (including supplier and batch), how many jars, and product temperature/pH.
• Confirmed your insurance covers food production and sales.

Your local Trading Standards and Environmental Health officers are genuinely helpful; contact them before you start, not after.