What the Tennessee cottage food law covers
TDA notes that people also call the Food Freedom Act the "Tennessee Cottage Food Law". It covers "homemade food items": food, including non-alcoholic drinks, that you produce, and package if you package it, at your own private residence.
Because the Act is about your residence, a rented commercial kitchen or a church kitchen is not covered. Make food there and the regular state licensing rules apply.
Which foods you can sell
The Act has no list of approved foods. Instead it splits homemade food into two groups. Shelf-stable foods, like breads, cookies, fudge, jams, granola and spice blends, follow the open rules. Foods that need time or temperature control for safety, like cheesecake, cream pies or chicken salad, follow stricter ones.
For refrigerated foods, the Act rules out:
- Unpasteurized milk
- Alcoholic beverages, or food that contains them
- Fish and shellfish products
- Meat, meat byproducts and meat food products
Poultry is allowed only to the extent federal law permits: either you raise and process your own birds under the federal 1,000-poultry exemption, or you use poultry that was federally or state inspected and passed and meet the retail exemption rules.
Where and how you can sell
Tennessee is one of the few states that lets a grocery store put homemade food on its shelf. The catch: only shelf-stable food, and only inside Tennessee.
| Way of selling | Shelf-stable foods | Refrigerated foods |
|---|---|---|
| In person, by you | Yes | Yes |
| By phone or online | Yes | No |
| Through your agent | Yes | Yes, in person |
| Through a retail shop or grocery store | Yes | No |
| Delivered by a third-party carrier | Yes | No, sold in person only |
| To customers in other states | Not covered by the Act | Not covered by the Act |
Counties, cities and other local governments can't ban or regulate homemade food production and sales under the Act. The Act also leaves the rules for other goods and services sold at the same place unchanged.
What still applies to you
- Sales tax and other tax laws: the Act exempts you from none of them
- Department of Health investigations of a reported foodborne illness
- TDA enforcement if a product falls outside the exemption, under T.C.A. § 53-1-201
- Federal law and the other state's rules once food leaves Tennessee
TDA can share general food safety information but does not advise on a specific product or business. For that, it points you to a private attorney.
When you outgrow the Food Freedom Act
Move production out of your home, sell refrigerated food online or ship to other states, and the exemption no longer covers you. You then need the state licensing the Act spared you, and federal labeling applies: net quantity, allergens and usually a Nutrition Facts panel.
FDA Food Labeling Requirements →