Selling maple syrup in New York

Maple producers who don't buy syrup from others to repack, and don't mix syrup with ingredients that can support harmful bacteria, are exempt from the Article 20-C food processing license (1 NYCRR 276.4(a)), provided the operation is kept sanitary. Buying sap from another farm to boil yourself is fine — sap is a raw agricultural commodity. You need a 20-C license from the Department of Agriculture and Markets if you buy syrup from anyone else (even a barrel from a neighbor) to repack, if you reuse glass bottles, or if you add ingredients that fall outside the exemption. Under the Department's 2024 guidance, flavored maple products still qualify if they're more than 50% maple by weight, the added ingredients aren't potentially hazardous (pH 4.6 or below and/or water activity 0.85 or below) and the product doesn't need refrigeration.

The maple exemption doesn't limit where syrup is made — it applies to any maple "establishment" that meets its sanitary conditions: keep out birds, insects and rodents; use pest-control products only where they can't contaminate the product; keep rooms, equipment and utensils clean and in good repair; don't store materials that create insanitary conditions; and use clean, sanitary, properly labeled containers (1 NYCRR 276.4(a)(1)–(6)). Plain syrup, maple cream, sugar and candy are covered by the maple exemption; the Department notes some flavored maple products can instead be made under New York's Home Processor registration.

Grading is mandatory. Maple syrup must contain 66.0% to 68.9% soluble solids (°Brix). Grade A syrup must not be fermented or turbid and must fit one of four classes: golden color and delicate taste (75% Tc or more), amber color and rich taste (50–74.9% Tc), dark color and robust taste (25–49.9% Tc) or very dark color and strong taste (under 25% Tc). Anything else is Processing Grade, which can't be sold in retail stores or directly to consumers for household use. The Department expects the grade to hold from packing all the way to the retail sale — cloth-filtered syrup still has to be clear.

Syrup grades explained · check your density

• ✓"Grade A Maple Syrup" conspicuously on the principal display panel
• ✓The color and taste class (e.g. "amber color and rich taste") near the name, in a size related to the name
• ✓Net contents in both US customary and metric units
• ✓Name and address of the producer (the street can be left off if the business is listed in a current city or phone directory; city, state and ZIP are still required)
• ✓Processing Grade instead reads "Processing Grade Maple Syrup" plus "For Food Processing Only" and "Not for Retail Sale"
• ✓Flavored or infused syrup must name the flavor with the maple syrup (e.g. "Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup"), carry an ingredient list, and can't show the grade on the front panel

Farmers markets: exempt producers can sell syrup they make at their own facility (out-of-state producers too), but it must be packaged, properly labeled and graded. The license exemption isn't tied to a sales venue, so it applies whether you sell from the farm, at markets or to stores; Processing Grade syrup can only go to food processors, never to stores or household consumers. The Department's FAQ says lot codes and tamper-evident seals aren't required by law but recommends lot coding. We found no New York rule limiting out-of-state shipping by exempt producers; federal rules (see the national notes) still apply.

The exemption is conditional on sanitary premises and equipment in good repair (1 NYCRR 276.4(a)). The Department says food-contact surfaces must be corrosion-resistant and doesn't recommend galvanized buckets (use a food-grade liner if you do); consumer bottles can't be reused under the maple exemption.