Last verified 2026-09-12. Regulator: Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. This page is not legal advice.
What must a cottage food label show in Missouri?
A Missouri cottage food label must show these 6 items:
- Full name and address of the cottage food production operation
- Common name of the food
- Name of all ingredients in the food in order of weight in descending order
- Net weight of the food
- List of any allergens in the food
- A statement that the product is prepared in a kitchen that is not subject to inspection by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Missouri does not set the exact words.
What disclaimer must a Missouri cottage food label have?
Missouri does not set exact disclaimer wording in the sources we have. Check the sources below.
Does Missouri require a Nutrition Facts panel on cottage food?
No. Missouri does not require a Nutrition Facts panel on cottage food. Federal rules also exempt most small producers, unless the label makes a nutrient or health claim. If you want to add one, the Nutrition Label Maker prints it in the FDA layout for free.
What foods can you sell under the Missouri cottage food law?
Baked goods, canned jams or jellies, and dried herb and dried herb mixes. Nothing else. A baked good is an item prepared by baking it in an oven, such as cookies, cakes, breads, danish, donuts, pastries, and pies, and it may not be a potentially hazardous food. Cut produce, baked goods garnished with fresh fruit, freeze dried foods, salsa, pickles, sauces, sprouts, wild mushrooms, meats, dairy, eggs, and pet foods are not allowed. Sugar free, no sugar added, and hot pepper jams and jellies are also excluded.
Where can you sell cottage food in Missouri?
Direct to the end consumer only. RSMo 196.298 describes sale at the individual's home. Online sales are allowed if both the operation and the buyer are in Missouri. Sales across state lines are not allowed. Wholesale ends the exemption. Only the person who prepared the food, or a household member with extensive knowledge of the product, may sell it.
Do you need a permit to sell cottage food in Missouri?
No permit, license, registration, or routine inspection. A cottage food production operation is not a food service establishment. A local health department may not regulate production, but it must keep a record of any complaint against the operation.
Is there a sales limit for cottage food in Missouri?
None. The $50,000 annual gross income cap was removed on August 28, 2022.
What else should you know about the Missouri rules?
Missouri requires a statement that the kitchen is not inspected, but it does not set the exact words. RSMo 196.298 says only that the label must carry the name and address plus a statement that the food is not inspected. So write the statement in your own clear words. The Missouri Cottage Law covers only three food groups. A wider Food Code exemption may let you sell other low-risk foods where local law allows, and that route adds a visible placard at the point of sale. Ask your local public health agency before you sell at a farmers market.
How accurate is this page?
The definitions, the online sales limit, the ban on local regulation, and the label content rule were read from RSMo 196.298 on revisor.mo.gov on 2026-09-12. The label item list, the allowed and excluded foods, the removal of the sales cap, and the who-may-sell rule were read the same day from the Missouri Home-Based Kitchen Food Production Guidance, published by the Department of Health and Senior Services. Not confirmed: any administrative rule under RSMo 196.298 subsection 4 that fixes exact disclaimer wording. No such rule was found, and the department guidance does not cite one.