Maple Syrup Products and Licensing Requirements
General Info
Wisconsin is one of the leading states in the nation in maple syrup production. Chapter 87 of Wisconsin's Administrative Code (ATCP 87) provides a framework that helps ensure maple-derived products produced in Wisconsin remain safe and wholesome.
Our agency, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), has published
Rules For Maple Syrup Processors, an eight-page guidance pamphlet that puts many of the provisions of
ATCP 87 in more plain-language terms.
Visitors to this page who have questions about licensing are encouraged to reach out to our Licensing staff at
datcpdfslicensing@wi.gov. Before setting up to process or sell liquid maple products, it is important to contact your local town, village, or city and county governments to see if there are local ordinances you must meet to process and/or sell your product. Farmers markets also may have their own rules.
Licensing
Food Processing Plant License
Facilities that make maple syrup and sell it wholesale to another processor or entity must have a food processing license, unless an exemption applies.
Exemption
Your facility does not need a food processing plant license if the processor does
all of the following:
- sells the maple syrup or concentrated maple sap only to other processors for further processing,
- sells not more than $5,000 during the license year. This includes sales for the combined gross receipts from all maple syrup, non-shelf-stable concentrated maple sap, and shelf-stable concentrated maple sap.(Note: This covers only wholesale product and the $5,000 does not include retail sales.),
- keeps a written record of every sale and retains that record for at least two years
- The record must be available for inspection and copying by DATCP upon request
- The record shall include the name and address of the purchasing processor, the date of sale, the amount of maple syrup or concentrated maple sap sold, and the sale price
and
- registers with DATCP before engaging in any processing activities in any license year, which ends March 31. A registration expires at the end of the license year. A maple sap processor registration form can be obtained by getting in touch with our Licensing staff using the Contact information on the right side of this page.
Gathering maple sap water is not considered food processing and does not require a food processing license.
Retail Food License
If you sell maple syrup directly to a consumer, you must have a retail food establishment license. You do not need a license if
all of the following apply:
- The establishment only sells fresh fruits and vegetables, honey, cider, sorghum, or maple syrup.
- The operator of the establishment produces the product sold to the consumer.
For information on this, please contact our Licensing staff at
datcpdfslicensing@wi.gov.
Food Warehouse License
A processor must have a food warehouse license if it holds liquid maple product or maple-derived water for more than 24 hours at a location other than the food processing plant.
Facilities, Equipment, and Safe Product
Equipment, utensils, and many other aspects of producing maple syrup-type products are covered by
ATCP 87 (and addressed in DATCP's Good Manufacturing Practices to Avoid Lead Contamination of Maple Syrup publication, also linked under Resources.
Protecting finished product from adulteration is an important concern. In the maple syrup industry, adulteration by toxic metals has been a focus for some time, with particular attention paid to lead contamination. DATCP's
Maple Syrup Toxic Metal Sampling helps guide Wisconsin's approach to this subject.
Grading
Maple syrup is designated with one of the following grades:
- Grade A
- Processing grade (or “maple syrup for processing")
- Substandard
Grading criteria involve a number of factors. They include the syrup's flavor, color, taste, and cloudiness, as well as factors such as Brix scale measurements and solids content (by weight). These topics are addressed in
ATCP 87, which also contains a table on the color classes of maple syrup and applicable flavor descriptions.
Maple syrup producers that do
not hold a food processing plant license may be allowed to label containers holding their product as having “ungraded" syrup. However, maple syrup producers that
do hold a food processing plant license cannot produce for-sale containers of ungraded syrup.
What are the requirements for flavored and infused syrups?
Only water, salt, chemical preservatives, and defoaming agents may be added to maple syrup for the finished product to be labeled only as maple syrup. Once any other ingredient is added to maple syrup, it no longer meets the standard of identity for maple syrup and must be labeled as something else.
When the product no longer meets the standard of identity due to addition of ingredients it must be evaluated for safety.
What is added and
how much is added will affect the controls necessary for food safety and regulations that apply. Operators can start by obtaining samples of their finished product from at least two separate batches and having them analyzed for water activity. If the water activity is above 0.85 additional controls will be needed, such as acidification or refrigeration to address the concern of Clostridium botulinum.
For example, addition of whole, dried cinnamon sticks or vanilla beans are not likely to increase the water activity of maple syrup. However, addition of a few slices of hot peppers or other vegetables could significantly increase the water activity of the finished product. In both examples, testing samples for water activity from at least two different batches will provide information to guide the development of appropriate food safety controls. If your operations are licensed as a retail food establishment, you might be required to keep infused or flavored maple syrup that you manufacture refrigerated and use it within seven days or obtain a product assessment to determine whether it is a time/temperature control for safety food. A process authority may be helpful to evaluate the safety of your finished product, and knowing the water activity is likely critical to their evaluation.
For more information, access the following sources:
A list of process authorities by state: