Missouri’s cottage food law, codified at RSMo 196.298, lets you produce and sell certain shelf-stable homemade foods directly to consumers from your residential kitchen without a commercial license or routine health inspection.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 196.298 – Cottage Food Production Operation Baked goods, jams and jellies, and dried herbs are the core categories. All sales must stay inside Missouri and go directly to the person eating the food, and every package needs a specific label. There is no longer an annual sales cap.
What You Can Make and Sell
The statute specifically covers baked goods, canned jams and jellies, and dried herbs or herb mixes. “Baked good” is defined broadly: cookies, cakes, breads, donuts, pastries, pies, and similar items prepared in an oven all qualify, provided the finished product is not potentially hazardous.
Beyond those core categories, cottage food producers in Missouri commonly sell fruit butters, preserves, honey, sorghum, cracked nuts, packaged spices and spice mixes, and fruit pies. The common thread is shelf stability. These products stay safe at room temperature because of low moisture, high sugar, or high acidity. If an item has to be refrigerated to stay safe, it does not qualify.
What You Cannot Sell From Your Home Kitchen
Anything classified as a potentially hazardous food falls outside the exemption. Cheesecakes with cream cheese filling, anything containing meat or poultry, and any product that needs cold storage to prevent bacterial growth all require a licensed commercial kitchen.
Acidified and low-acid canned foods are also excluded. That rules out pickled vegetables, salsas, canned vegetables, and pepper jams or jellies.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 196.298 – Cottage Food Production Operation Fresh salsa made on-site at a farmers’ market is treated as a food establishment activity and subject to full food safety inspection. To sell any of these items, you need to meet the standard food safety requirements enforced by your local public health agency.
Where You Can Sell and Who Can Sell It
Cottage food sales must be direct-to-consumer and must stay within Missouri. You can sell from your home, at farmers’ markets, at roadside stands, and at similar venues. Online sales are allowed as long as both you and the buyer are in Missouri.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 196.298 – Cottage Food Production Operation You cannot ship across state lines; doing so can pull you into FDA jurisdiction and federal food safety enforcement.
The person who prepared the food has to be the one selling it, or the seller has to be a household member who knows the product thoroughly. You cannot wholesale to grocery stores or restaurants, and you cannot hire outside help to sell for you. These limits keep the operation small and traceable.
There is no annual sales cap. The $50,000 ceiling that used to apply was removed, so you can earn as much as you want under the exemption as long as you stick to permitted products, sell directly to consumers, and follow the labeling rules.
What Has to Be on the Label
Every package you sell has to carry a legible label with all of the following:
- Your full name and physical address as the producer
- The common name of the product, such as “Blueberry Jam” or “Oatmeal Raisin Cookie”
- A full ingredient list in descending order by weight, heaviest first
- Net weight of the food in the package
- Any major allergens present in the product
- A statement that the product was prepared in a kitchen not subject to inspection by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 196.298 – Cottage Food Production Operation
Missing or incorrect elements can cost you the exemption. The uninspected-kitchen disclaimer is the one producers most often get wrong, and the required wording names the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services specifically rather than referring to state inspection generally.
On allergens, federal law currently recognizes nine: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame.2U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FASTER Act – Sesame Is the Ninth Major Food Allergen Sesame was added by the FASTER Act and catches many bread and spice-mix producers off guard. You can disclose allergens inside the ingredient list in parentheses, like “flour (wheat),” or in a separate “Contains” statement right after the ingredients.
Honey Has Its Own Rules
If you are only selling honey you harvested yourself, a separate statute applies. RSMo 261.241 lets honey sellers with annual gross sales of $50,000 or less bottle and sell honey from their home without a separate production facility.3Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 261.241 – Sellers of Honey, No Manufacturing Facilities Required The honey has to be bottled in the home of the person who harvested it, and you have to keep sales records available for regulatory review. The honey label needs only three items: your name and address, the common name of the food, and a list of all ingredients. If you sell honey alongside baked goods, the honey falls under 261.241 and the baked goods fall under 196.298, so you follow both.
Pet Treats Are Not Cottage Food
Cottage food covers human food only. Homemade pet treats, even baked in the same home kitchen, require a Commercial Feed License from the Missouri Department of Agriculture, plus per-product registration for packages of ten pounds or less.4Missouri Department of Agriculture. Feed and Seed Program If dog biscuits are part of your plan, treat them as a separate licensing project.
Local Permits, Zoning, and Insurance
The state exemption does not override local rules. Many Missouri cities and counties require a home occupation permit or business license before you can run any business from a residence, with zoning restrictions on foot traffic, signage, and how much of the home the business can use. Fees and rules vary by municipality, so contact your city or county clerk before you start.
Local health departments cannot regulate cottage food production itself.1Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 196.298 – Cottage Food Production Operation They can, however, investigate any reported foodborne illness that traces back to your kitchen, and the exemption will not shield you from that investigation. Local public health agencies are also authorized under Chapter 192, RSMo, to adopt food ordinances equal to or stricter than state regulations, so check with your local agency along with the clerk’s office.
Missouri does not require product liability insurance for cottage food producers, but your homeowners policy almost certainly will not cover you. Standard homeowners policies carry business-activity exclusions in their property, liability, and medical payments sections. If a customer gets sick, slips during a pickup, or a kitchen fire during production damages the home, the insurer can deny the claim because you were running a business. Call your homeowners agent before you start selling, disclose the activity, and ask what product and general liability coverage you need to fill the gap.