When deciding whether to sell food on Shef, it's important for you to understand the laws in your city and state. As a marketplace, we do not provide legal advice, but we want to provide useful links and information that may help you better understand laws and regulations in Pennsylvania. This list is not exhaustive and there may be additional requirements or considerations based on your individual circumstances.

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture permits some “limited” types of food to be prepared from home and then sold to consumers (3 Pa. C.S.A 5721-5737). The Pennsylvania Food Safety Act regulates “limited food establishments” and the sale of certain foods that do not need time and temperature control for consumption or are otherwise not potentially hazardous. Registration to be a limited food establishment is required unless an exemption applies and certain foods require testing by the Department of Agriculture prior to sale. See the application for more details.

Sellers are required to follow all state and local rules. If you would like to sell food items that are not covered by these laws, you are required to cook out of a commercial kitchen or other legal facility.

If you determine you need commercial kitchen space based on the regulations in your jurisdiction and your menu, there are many spaces for rent, including but not limited to a list we maintain here. If you need additional referrals, please email help@shef.com. Please note, we can't verify a specific commercial kitchen will meet your specific needs so be sure to do your own diligence before partnering with any location.

Maintaining the safety of the Shef community is our number one priority. All shefs are required to pass an accredited food safety certification exam, a food quality assessment, and must maintain minimum quality ratings. For a list of ANSI-approved food safety courses, see here.