The essentials
Mississippi, at a glance
Mississippi allows qualifying food made and stored in your private home to be sold directly to Mississippi consumers without the ordinary MSDH food permit.
Gross annual cottage-food sales may not exceed $35,000. Online advertising is allowed, but internet transactions, mail order, wholesale and retail-store sales are outside this route. Start with both the product and the selling method.
- Sales limits
Annual gross cottage-food sales cannot exceed $35,000; all locations, product types and people in the operation are aggregated, and written verification must be supplied to MSDH on request.
- Registration & permits
Compliant cottage operations are exempt from the §41-3-18 food permit; the statute does not apply to a person operating under that permit.
View official sources (2)
- HB326 enacted text amending §75-29-951 Mississippi Legislature
- Cottage Food Operation FAQ Mississippi State Department of Health
One step at a time
Your first 2 steps
Set up the home-food workflow
Check your complete recipe against MSDH’s approved and excluded foods.
Reserve suitable production and storage space inside the home, prepare a package label and choose a direct, in-person sales setting. Check city or county business requirements. Keep a running sales ledger from the first order so you can document the annual gross amount if MSDH requests it.
Budget for the actual requirements
There is no MSDH cottage-food permit or annual permit renewal under the exemption.
Local business requirements and product-specific costs still need checking. MSDH encourages food-safety training and, especially for acidified foods, training and sample analysis. Plan for those practical preparation costs without treating a voluntary general course as a mandatory state certificate.
View official sources (3)
- HB326 enacted text amending §75-29-951 Mississippi Legislature
- Cottage Food Operation FAQ Mississippi State Department of Health
- P3286 — Mississippi Cottage Food Operations: Regulations and Guidance Mississippi State University Extension
Make what you love
Can you sell what you make?
These are examples. Check the complete recipe, preparation method and sales route before offering a product.
Baked goods and dry products
Check the conditionsQualifying breads, biscuits, cookies, pastries without excluded fillings, candy, dry mixes, dried pasta, granola and similar listed products can fit.
The finished food must be safe at room temperature and not require refrigeration even after opening. A shelf-stable shell does not make a custard or dairy filling eligible, so evaluate the entire product.
Coated fruit must remain intact
Check the conditionsWhole uncut fruit dipped in chocolate or a sweet coating can qualify, subject to the agency’s melon restriction.
Do not pierce a caramel apple or other coated fruit with a stick before sale. MSDH specifically allows the customer to insert the stick after purchasing. Packaging the intact fruit with a separate stick preserves that distinction.
Pickled products need a verified process
Check the conditionsMSDH limits canned cottage products to eligible acidified plant-based foods with finished equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below.
Low-acid canned food is excluded. Use the complete process for the product; adding vinegar or recording one early pH reading does not establish that the finished food meets the definition and processing conditions.
View official sources (2)
- Cottage Food Operation FAQ Mississippi State Department of Health
- P3286 — Mississippi Cottage Food Operations: Regulations and Guidance Mississippi State University Extension
From your kitchen to your customers
Where and how you can sell
| Selling method | What matters |
|---|---|
| Home sales, markets and fairs | Sell personally to the final consumer within Mississippi. MSU identifies home sales, farmers markets, municipal or county fairs and similar settings. Keep the food prepackaged and labeled before offering it. An organizer’s acceptance does not remove the statewide requirements for the food, package, seller or transaction. |
| Social media can advertise the business | You may use a website or social media to advertise cottage foods. The statute still prohibits selling over the internet and by mail order. Use the online presence to explain products and where customers can buy in person; do not assume an online checkout becomes compliant merely because the customer plans to collect the package later. |
| No consignment, wholesale or interstate cottage sales | You must be present to sell directly to the actual customer. Dropping labeled packages at a shop for consignment does not satisfy that rule, and wholesale or retail-establishment sales are prohibited. Mississippi cottage foods must stay within the state; cottage foods made in another state cannot be sold under this route in Mississippi. |
View official sources (3)
- HB326 enacted text amending §75-29-951 Mississippi Legislature
- Cottage Food Operation FAQ Mississippi State Department of Health
- P3286 — Mississippi Cottage Food Operations: Regulations and Guidance Mississippi State University Extension
Your label, explained
Every field has a purpose.
Use the example to understand the structure. Follow the Mississippi requirements below for your product and sales route.
Your product
name
Your product name and actual net quantity
Your complete recipe and supplier ingredients
Operation or producer name; full business address (see state notes)
The statement for your state, product and sales route
Packaged cottage food · check product-specific additions
A guide to the fields, not a ready-to-print label. Use your actual product and business details.
Name it. Measure it.
Identify your product and its actual net quantity. Check the state’s formatting and unit requirements below.
Use your actual recipe.
Check every ingredient and supplier label. Use the applicable ingredient and allergen declarations for your product.
Identify your operation.
Operation or producer name; full business address (see state notes)
Use the wording for your route.
Requirements can differ by product and sales channel. Keep the disclosure, placement and type-size conditions together.
Required Mississippi disclosure
Put this statement on the package: “Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Mississippi's food safety regulations.” Use at least 10-point type in a color with clear contrast against the background.
The disclosure is one part of the full label; a market sign or social-media bio does not replace the affixed package label.
Operation identity and product information
Include the operation’s name and address, the product name, ingredients in descending order by weight and net weight or volume.
MSU’s example uses a full street address, city, state and ZIP code and includes subingredients of purchased components. Keep the label tied to the actual recipe when changing flour blends, chocolate, fillings or other ingredients.
Allergens and nutrition claims
Identify applicable major allergens, including sesame.
Name the particular tree nut rather than simply writing nuts. MSDH describes identification in the ingredient list or a suitable Contains statement. If you make a nutritional claim, the statute requires the appropriate federal nutrition information; review that requirement before adding marketing claims to the package.
The wording for your label
Packaged cottage food · check product-specific additions
Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Mississippi's food safety regulations.
View official sources (3)
- HB326 enacted text amending §75-29-951 Mississippi Legislature
- Cottage Food Operation FAQ Mississippi State Department of Health
- P3286 — Mississippi Cottage Food Operations: Regulations and Guidance Mississippi State University Extension
A useful head start
Your Mississippi label kit.
Editable template, example label and starting checklist.
Personalize it for your products and business.
Enter your email. Get the files immediately.
Before your first sale
A few details worth getting right.
An example
Three markets still share one sales limit
Combine the operation’s cottage-food sales across every location and product type.
The $35,000 limit is gross sales, and adding another person to the operation does not create a separate allowance. Maintain written records that can verify the total to MSDH. Review the permitted-food route before growth would take the operation beyond the exemption.
An example
Keep an acidified-product batch record
MSU recommends checking pH 24 hours after processing and recording the recipe source, preparation date, quantity and pH.
Its guidance also calls for the appropriate hot-water-bath or approved hot-fill-hold process. Keep that record with the exact recipe. These recommendations support process control; they do not turn an otherwise excluded low-acid product into a cottage food.
Fermentation is a separate approval question
MSU states that fermented products need additional paperwork, testing and process approval before sale.
Do not assume a sauerkraut or kimchi recipe is cleared simply because another pickled vegetable qualifies. Present the complete recipe and process for review and retain the resulting product-specific requirements before including it in the menu.
View official sources (4)
- HB326 enacted text amending §75-29-951 Mississippi Legislature
- Cottage Food Operation FAQ Mississippi State Department of Health
- P3286 — Mississippi Cottage Food Operations: Regulations and Guidance Mississippi State University Extension
- Food Facility Regulation and Permits Mississippi State Department of Health
A few more answers
Common questions
Can I use sugar substitutes in my jam?
MSDH excludes sugar-free or reduced-sugar jams and jellies made with sugar substitutes from the cottage-food route. Qualifying preserves must meet the referenced federal standard. Changing the sweetener or sugar level can therefore change eligibility even when the fruit and jar size stay the same. Recheck the revised formulation before selling it.
View sources for this answer (1)
- Cottage Food Operation FAQ Mississippi State Department of Health
Will my kitchen be inspected?
The statute permits complaint investigations and entry for an inspection when a complaint is received. Refusing an authorized complaint inspection can lead to disciplinary action. Keep ingredients and finished products protected in the home and retain useful production and sales records. The permit exemption does not mean unsafe food or complaints are outside MSDH’s authority.
View sources for this answer (2)
- HB326 enacted text amending §75-29-951 Mississippi Legislature
- Cottage Food Operation FAQ Mississippi State Department of Health
Keep it handy
Your first-sale checklist
Use this free checklist to keep track of your next steps. The conditions in this guide still apply.
0 of 2 completed · Restoring progress…
Official guidance
Sources, updates & your next step
Ask MSDH about an uncertain product or growth plan
The current MSDH Food Facility page links cottage guidance and regulated-food permit information and lists Food Protection at 601-364-2832. Use that route for an unfamiliar recipe, catering plan or business expansion. For routine setup, also check the city or county where the home is located for business permits and zoning requirements.
Official sources 6 references
- HB326 enacted text amending §75-29-951 →
Mississippi Legislature · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Cottage Food Operation FAQ →
Mississippi State Department of Health · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- P3286 — Mississippi Cottage Food Operations: Regulations and Guidance →
Mississippi State University Extension · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- HB910 2026 official bill history →
Mississippi Legislature · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- HB1108 2026 official bill history →
Mississippi Legislature · Reviewed September 14, 2026
- Food Facility Regulation and Permits →
Mississippi State Department of Health · Reviewed September 14, 2026
Guide updates September 14, 2026
Reviewed Mississippi’s product eligibility, sales routes, starting requirements and label guidance against the official sources below. Current conditions and any dated changes are explained in the relevant sections of this guide.
View sources for this update (5)
- HB326 enacted text amending §75-29-951 Mississippi Legislature
- Cottage Food Operation FAQ Mississippi State Department of Health
- P3286 — Mississippi Cottage Food Operations: Regulations and Guidance Mississippi State University Extension
- HB910 2026 official bill history Mississippi Legislature
- HB1108 2026 official bill history Mississippi Legislature
This guide is a starting point. Confirm requirements for your products and location with the relevant authority. Examples are illustrative and are not a compliance approval.