Fort Worth, TX Home Business: Cottage Food Operations (2026)

The Texas Cottage Food Law, codified in Health and Safety Code Chapter 437, preempts city licensing of small-scale home food production. Fort Worth residents may bake, can, and prepare permitted foods, including baked goods, candies, dried mixes, jams, jellies, pickles, and certain acidified canned goods, in an ordinary home kitchen with no commercial inspection. Annual gross sales are capped at $50,000. Sales may occur directly to consumers in person, by mail within Texas, and at farmers markets, festivals, and pickup, but not wholesale to stores or restaurants. Producers must complete a food handler course and label every product with name, address, ingredients, allergens, weight, and the required disclosure that the food was made in a home kitchen not inspected by any regulatory authority. Fort Worth cannot require an additional city permit or inspection for qualifying cottage food operations, though meat, poultry, and dairy products remain outside the law.