Texas cottage food law

The rules at a glance

Cottage food production operation

• Unattended honesty stand?

  Not addressed

  Sales must be direct to the customer. The law doesn't mention self-serve stands.

  Source

  • sells the foods produced under Paragraph (A) directly to consumers or to a cottage food vendorTexas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 437

• Sign up with the state?

  Optional

  Register with DSHS to sell cold foods, or to put an ID number on labels instead of your address.

  Source

  • Cottage food production operations (CFPO) that sell time and temperature control for safety (TCS) foods must register on the DSHS Online Licensing RegistryTexas DSHS: Texas Cottage Food Production
  • Instead of providing a physical home address on the label, operators may register on the DSHS Online Licensing Registry and place their registration number on the labelTexas DSHS: Texas Cottage Food Production
  • NOR require a cottage operation to: obtain any type of license or permitTexas DSHS: Texas Cottage Food Production

• Food safety class?

  Yes

  A food handler course.

  Source

  • An individual who operates a cottage food production operation must successfully complete a basic food safety education or training program for food handlersTexas DSHS: Texas Cottage Food Production

• Kitchen inspection?

  No
  Source

  • Health departments do not have regulatory authority to conduct inspections of a cottage food production operationTexas DSHS: Texas Cottage Food Production

• Yearly sales limit

  $150,000 a year

  Gross sales, not profit. The state raises it for inflation each year.

  Source

  • has an annual gross income of $150,000 or less from the sale of food described by Paragraph (A), as the department annually adjusts for inflationTexas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 437

• Foods that need a fridge?

  Yes

  Register first. Keep cold foods at 41°F or below.

  Source

  • a cottage food production operation may sell time and temperature control for safety food (TCS)Texas DSHS: Texas Cottage Food Production
  • CFPOs that sell TCS foods must register with DSHSTexas DSHS: Texas Cottage Food Production

• Take orders online?

  Yes

  You, an employee or someone in your household hands the order over.

  Source

  • Food produced by a cottage food production operation may be sold online under the following circumstancesTexas DSHS: Texas Cottage Food Production
  • The operator, an employee, or a household member personally delivers the food to the consumerTexas DSHS: Texas Cottage Food Production

• Ship or mail orders?

  No

  Online orders are delivered in person.

  Source

  • The operator, an employee, or a household member personally delivers the food to the consumerTexas DSHS: Texas Cottage Food Production

• Sell through shops?

  Sometimes

  Only through a registered cottage food vendor, and not cold foods.

  Source

  • A cottage food vendor can sell directly to consumers at a farmers' market, a farm stand, a food service establishment, or any retail storeTexas DSHS: Texas Cottage Food Production
  • A CFPO may wholesale cottage foods to a cottage food vendor, unless the foods are TCSTexas DSHS: Texas Cottage Food Production

What goes on the label