Mississippi Cottage Food Law: Labels, Limits & When You Need Nutrition Facts

Last verified 16 Sep 2026 · Sources

Mississippi’s cottage food law (Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951) lets you sell certain foods without a permit as long as annual gross sales stay at or under $35,000 and every sale happens in person, direct to the buyer: no internet checkout, mail order, wholesale account, or retail shelf. The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) administers the exemption and can inspect a home kitchen only after a complaint. The label rule that matters most is a single sentence the statute spells out word for word, in type no smaller than 10 points. None of this triggers FDA’s Nutrition Facts requirement on its own. That starts once your product carries a nutrient content or health claim, crosses into interstate commerce, or outgrows the FDA’s small-business labeling exemption.

Quick facts	Mississippi
Revenue cap	$35,000/yr gross
Permit or registration	None; exempt from Sec. 41-3-18 permitting
Sales channels	Direct to consumer only, in person
Online sales	No (advertising only)
Required label statement	“Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Mississippi's food safety regulations.”
Nutrition Facts panel	Not required unless you make a nutrient claim
Administered by	Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH)
Governing law	Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951 (Cottage Food Law)

What Mississippi lets you sell from home

The statute limits cottage food operations to “nonpotentially hazardous food products,” meaning items that don’t need time-and-temperature control to stay safe, and directs MSDH to define which products qualify (Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951). MSDH and Mississippi State University Extension guidance built on that definition list typical cottage food items: baked goods without cream, custard, or meat fillings; candy and confections; dried fruit; jams, jellies, and preserves; mustard; popcorn; vinegar; and other shelf-stable, acidified, or dry goods (extension.msstate.edu). Potentially hazardous foods (dairy, most eggs, meat, fish, cooked beans, rice, potatoes, and low-acid canned goods) fall outside the exemption and need a licensed, permitted kitchen. There’s no separate revenue tier by product type; the $35,000 cap covers the whole operation.

Permits, registration, and the revenue cap

A cottage food operation that follows the statute’s rules is exempt from the standard retail-food permit required under Miss. Code Ann. § 41-3-18: no application, fee, or pre-operational kitchen inspection with MSDH (Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951(1)). The exemption holds only while annual gross sales of cottage food products stay at $35,000 or less, and the statute counts “all sales of cottage food products at any location, regardless of the types of products sold” toward that single limit, so if you sell at several markets or through several product lines, it all adds together (Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951(1)(b)). MSDH can require written sales documentation to verify the figure. The $35,000 cap reflects Senate Bill 2553 (2020), which raised the limit from $20,000 and, in the same amendment, added the carve-out letting cottage food operators advertise online even though they can’t sell that way (billstatus.ls.state.ms.us; Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951). Your operation stays subject to ordinary federal and state tax law regardless of the exemption (Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951(4)).

Where you can sell

Sales have to be direct to the consumer and in person: a home kitchen door, a farmers market, a county or municipal fair, or a similar face-to-face setting (Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951; extension.msstate.edu). The statute is explicit about what’s off the table: a cottage food operation “may not sell cottage food products over the Internet, by mail order, or at wholesale or to a retail establishment” (Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951(2)). The one exception carved into that same subsection is advertising: you can promote your products online, including on social media, as long as the actual sale and hand-off happen in person. There’s no statutory allowance for shipping cottage food products out of state or selling them through a store, co-op, or distributor while staying inside the exemption.

What has to be on the label

Every prepackaged cottage food product needs a label with, per Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951(3):

The cottage food operation’s name and address
The product’s common or usual name
Ingredients listed in descending order of predominance by weight
Net weight or volume
Allergen information consistent with federal labeling law
Nutritional information, if the label makes any nutritional claim
The required disclosure statement, verbatim, in the specified type size and contrast

“Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Mississippi’s food safety regulations.”

(Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951(3))

The statute requires that sentence printed in type at least 10 points in size, in a color that provides clear contrast against the label’s background, not buried in fine print or a color that blends into the packaging.

When you need a Nutrition Facts panel

Selling under Mississippi’s cottage food exemption doesn’t by itself require FDA nutrition labeling, and the statute only calls for nutritional information at all when the label makes a nutritional claim. That’s the trigger everywhere, not just in Mississippi: a nutrient content or health claim (“high protein,” “low sugar,” anything with a specific FDA meaning) pulls your product into standard 21 CFR 101.9 labeling the moment the claim appears, whether that’s on the package or in an Instagram caption. Since Mississippi’s law caps sales at $35,000 and bars wholesale, retail, and interstate sales in the first place, you’re unlikely to hit the FDA’s small-business labeling thresholds through cottage food sales alone, but the day you add a co-packer, a retail account, or an out-of-state order, you’re operating outside the cottage food exemption entirely and federal labeling rules apply on their own terms.

That’s where NutriLabels fits once a claim, a retail account, or growth takes your product past the exemption, and a panel built from your own recipe lets that first co-packer or store conversation start with real numbers. Enter your recipe, then see your label: the calorie count, the nutrient content claims you qualify for and your allergen line show free, no card required, while every other value and %DV stays hidden until you unlock it. A one-time $29 unlocks every other nutrient value and %DV, every FDA format your product qualifies for, plus the ingredient statement and allergen declaration, ready to print. Start your label, or compare Mississippi with other states’ cottage food laws.

Mississippi cottage food FAQ

Do I need a permit to sell homemade food in Mississippi?

No, as long as annual gross sales of cottage food products stay at or under $35,000 and you follow the statute's food, label, and sales-channel rules; a cottage food operation meeting those terms is exempt from the standard food-permit requirement of Miss. Code Ann. § 41-3-18 (Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951).

What is Mississippi's cottage food sales cap?

$35,000 in annual gross sales of cottage food products, counting every sales location and product type together, not per item or per venue (Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951).

Can I sell my cottage food products online in Mississippi?

No. The statute bars selling cottage food products over the internet, by mail order, at wholesale, or to a retail establishment; it only carves out an exception for advertising a product online, not for taking or fulfilling the sale that way (Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951).

What exact wording does my Mississippi cottage food label need?

The label must state, word for word, "Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Mississippi\'s food safety regulations," printed in type at least 10 points in size and in a color that contrasts clearly with the background (Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951).

Can I sell my cottage food products at a farmers market?

Yes. Farmers markets, fairs, and similar in-person, direct-to-consumer venues fit the statute's sales rules; what's off-limits is selling through a retail store, a wholesaler, the internet, or mail order (Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951).

When does Mississippi require a real Nutrition Facts panel?

Selling under Mississippi's cottage food exemption doesn't by itself trigger FDA nutrition labeling. The panel becomes necessary once a package or ad carries a nutrient content or health claim, or once your business moves into interstate commerce or outgrows the FDA's small-business labeling exemption under 21 CFR 101.9.

Nearby states

Selling into a neighboring state means that state’s rules apply there: Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas. See the full state-by-state table.

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