Texas Cottage Food Law allows Fort Worth residents to sell non-potentially-hazardous homemade foods with no city permit, up to $50,000 per year in gross sales with labeling requirements.
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.
Exceeding the $50,000 cap or selling prohibited products requires licensure under full commercial food manufacturing rules enforced by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Labeling violations can draw DSHS warnings and civil penalties.
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Side-by-side rule comparisons with other cities in Tarrant County.
See how other cities in Tarrant County handle cottage food operations.
See how Fort Worth's cottage food operations rules stack up against other locations.
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