Knox County sets no separate cottage-food rule. Tennessee's Food Freedom Act (T.C.A. 53-1-118) lets you make and sell most homemade, non-hazardous foods without a state license, permit, or inspection. Zoning still treats it as a home occupation, so 'cooking and preserving' must meet the section 4.90 conditions.
Homemade food is governed statewide, not by the county. Under the Tennessee Food Freedom Act, foods produced in a home-based kitchen are exempt from all licensing, permitting, inspecting, packaging, and labeling laws of this state, except when the Department of Health investigates a reported foodborne illness. Tennessee imposes no sales cap. A 2025 amendment allows certain time/temperature-controlled foods. Locally, selling homemade food is a home occupation: Knox County Zoning section 4.90 lists 'cooking and preserving' as a permitted home occupation, so it must be conducted by residents, use no more than 25% of the dwelling, and sell only products produced on the premises.
State exemption does not override zoning: a food business that breaks the section 4.90 home-occupation conditions is a county zoning violation.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Knox County's cottage food operations rules stack up against other locations.
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