PRESERVED FOODS Divisions and Classes
See Glossary for all definitions
PRESERVED FOOD SAFETY REQUIREMENTS: Food safety is of utmost importance and any entry deemed by the judges or Fair staff to be unsafe for consumption will be disqualified. Entries must be prepared in accordance with the USDA guidelines available from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.ELIGIBILITY OF PRESERVED FOODS ENTRIES:• Entries must have been canned within the past year (after July 6, 2025).
• Home-prepared product only. Commercially canned or preserved foods are not eligible.
• Entries must meet all requirements below and be considered safe to taste.
Due to food safety concerns, the following items are NOT eligible:- Non-pickled vegetables
- Pesto
- Mustards
- Oil-packed product
- Pumpkin product (i.e., pumpkin butter, jam, etc.)
- Product containing meat (except Jerkies), dairy, or eggs
- Chocolate or Chocolate sauces
Quantity Requirements: Each entry must consist of two (2) identical containers of product from the same batch – one container for display and one for judging. The judge will choose which container to open. Jars and lids must be identical. Seals and bands must be made by the same manufacturer (Bell & Kerr are interchangeable).
Jar Requirements: Jars must be sterilized, clear (non-colored), regular or widemouthed, Mason-type (Ball, Kerr, etc.), threaded, home canning jar, sealed with a metal lid and ring band. No decorations are allowed on jars (except those from the manufacturer).
Jar Seal Requirements: Jars must be sealed with
new, two-piece, vacuum seals, consisting of metal screw ring band and metal lid, specifically made for canning jars. Ring band must unscrew easily.
Label Requirements:• Use plain white labels without any decoration or embellishments.
• Jars must be labeled on their lids only with no overlap onto the screw ring band.
• Dried food labels must be placed on the upper right corner of resealable plastic bag.
• Labels must contain
only the following information:
- WEN# (Found on entry receipt)
- Division and Class
- Description of Entry
- Canning or Drying Method used (Must be a method listed below)/ Processing Time (Minutes
in a water bath, steam canner, or pressure canner, or Hours of oven or dehydrator drying time)
- Description of Entry
- Date of Preservation (Month/Day/Year)
- Elevation (Your altitude effects the necessary processing time of preserved foods.)
• No additional labeling is permitted.
Labels must be formatted as shown:
Canning Requirements: All Preserved Foods entries (including jam and jelly) must meet proper acid levels and be processed according to USDA standards using
only one of the three following canning methods.
•
Canning Method A. Water Bath Method: Used for acid foods (example: most fruits, excluding figs). Tomatoes, figs and some fruits are considered borderline low-acid foods. These foods should be made more acid by adding lemon juice, citric acid or vinegar as appropriate for the type of food.
•
Canning Method B. Pressure Canner Method: Usually used for low acid foods but can also be used to process acid foods. Due to safety concerns, low acid foods processed using the pressure canner method are not eligible for competition at the San Diego County Fair.
•
Canning Method C. Steam Canner Method: Processing times are the same for both water bath and steam canning. Products requiring a water bath processing time longer than 45 minutes cannot be safely processed in a steam canner.
Dried Foods Requirements: Dried foods entries must be home-prepared using an oven or electric dehydrator. All Dried Foods entries must be prepared using a tested recipe and processed according to USDA standards using
only one of the methods below:
•
Dehydration Method A. Oven: Any standard or convection home oven. Most foods are dehydrated at 130 °F (54 °C), although meats being made into jerky should be dehydrated at a higher temperature of 155 °F (68 °C), or preheated to that temperature, to guard against pathogens that may already be in the meat.
•
Dehydration Method B. Electric Dehydrator: Any kitchen appliance marketed as a Food Dehydrator/Dryer which circulates warm air over the food surfaces. These offer precise temperature control at lower temperatures than a conventional oven.
Ingredient List Requirement: This completed
Ingredient List must be delivered with each Culinary Entry. In consideration of exhibitors with no printer, blank Ingredient List forms will be provided, and must be completed by exhibitors, at entry delivery.