Home food business rules in Alberta: Calgary, Edmonton and tiffin services
Alberta's Food Regulation lets you sell low-risk food made in your home kitchen, like baking and candy. A tiffin is a cooked meal that needs refrigeration, so it falls outside those home rules. Here's what that means for you.
· 3 min read
Low-risk home-prepared foods
Alberta's Food Regulation lets people make low-risk foods in their home kitchen and sell them directly to the public: from home, online or by mail, at special events like craft fairs, and at farmers' markets. Low-risk means the food doesn't need refrigeration: baked goods, candies, whole fresh produce and some canned goods. The food must be labelled with information about the food and the producer. See Low-risk home-prepared foods and the operators' fact sheet linked there.
Where tiffins fit
A tiffin is cooked rice, dal, sabzi, curry or meat, and all of it needs to be kept cold. So it's not a low-risk home-prepared food, and the home-kitchen rules above don't cover it.
To sell cooked meals, contact Alberta Health Services (AHS) Environmental Public Health before you start. They'll tell you what permit you need and whether the kitchen you plan to use is acceptable. Most tiffin and meal prep businesses in Alberta cook in a commercial or shared kitchen that AHS has approved.
Calgary
The City of Calgary says every home-based business that prepares or sells food needs a business licence and location approval, and that any business selling, preparing, making or storing food needs an AHS inspection of the location. Calgary recommends getting location and building approvals before applying for the licence. Licences last a year.
- Confirm with AHS what your menu needs and where you can cook it.
- Apply for location approval with the City.
- Book the AHS inspection.
- Apply for the business licence once approvals are in.
Edmonton and the rest of Alberta
The health rules are provincial, so they're the same in Edmonton, Red Deer or Lethbridge. Business licences and zoning are set by each city, so check with your municipality. AHS is the contact for the food side everywhere in Alberta.
Starting legally without a big lease
Calgary and Edmonton both have shared commercial kitchens rented by the hour, and many community halls and places of worship rent theirs. It's the usual way tiffin kitchens start. See home food business rules in Canada for what to ask a kitchen before you book.
Alberta charges GST only (5%), no provincial sales tax. See GST/HST for tiffin businesses for when you must register.
Food safety training in Alberta
Alberta's Food Regulation recognizes certain food safety courses that issue approved certificates, and AHS offers online courses and home-study booklets. The province encourages every operator to take one; for a permitted food business, expect the inspector to ask for a certificate.
Questions to ask AHS before you start
- Here is my menu. Which items are low-risk, and which need a permitted kitchen?
- Does the kitchen I plan to rent already hold a food handling permit, and can I operate under it?
- Do I need my own permit if I deliver the food rather than serve it on site?
- What do you need from me before an inspection: plans, training certificates, a cleaning schedule?
What you can sell from home while you get set up
Some tiffin cooks start with what the home rules allow: shelf-stable snacks, sweets, pickles that don't need refrigeration, and spice mixes, sold from home, online or at farmers' markets with proper labels. It builds a following on Instagram and at markets while the permitted-kitchen side is sorted out. Check each product against the operators' fact sheet first.
Labels for low-risk home food
Alberta requires low-risk home-prepared foods to be labelled with information about the food and the producer, so customers can make an informed choice and reach you with questions. See food labels for home food businesses and the free label template.
Questions
Can I sell food from home in Alberta?
Yes, if it's a low-risk food that doesn't need refrigeration, such as baked goods, candies, whole fresh produce and some canned goods. It must be labelled, and you can sell from home, online, at special events and at farmers' markets.
Can I run a tiffin service from home in Calgary?
Cooked meals need refrigeration, so they aren't low-risk home-prepared foods. Talk to Alberta Health Services about a food handling permit and a suitable kitchen; most tiffin kitchens use a commercial or shared kitchen. Calgary also needs a business licence and location approval for any home-based food business.
Do I need a business licence in Calgary for a home food business?
Yes. The City of Calgary says all home-based businesses that prepare or sell food need a business licence and location approval, and an AHS inspection is required for businesses that sell, prepare, make or store food.