Tuscaloosa, AL Home Business: Cottage Food Operations (2026)

Selling homemade food from a Tuscaloosa home is controlled primarily by Alabama state law rather than a city ordinance. Alabama's cottage food law, expanded by the 2021 'Home Sweet Home Act,' allows individuals to produce and sell certain non-potentially hazardous (shelf-stable) foods from their home kitchen without a full food-establishment permit or inspection by the Alabama Department of Public Health. The 2021 reforms allowed the sale of all shelf-stable homemade foods, permitted online sales and shipping, and eliminated the prior $20,000 annual sales cap, so there is no longer a gross-sales limit. Allowed products include items such as candies, jams and jellies, baked goods, roasted nuts and coffee, popcorn, and dry baking mixes; certain other items (dried herbs, fermented vegetables, barbecue sauce) qualify if they meet water-activity or pH limits. Foods containing meat, poultry, or fish, refrigerated baked goods (such as custard pies and cheesecakes), garlic-in-oil mixtures, milk products, and kombucha are prohibited. Before selling, a cottage food operator must attend and pass a food safety course approved by the Alabama Department of Public Health and register with the county health department. Sales must be made directly to consumers within Alabama (in person, by phone, or online), not to restaurants or grocery stores. Labels must include the business name and address, the food's name, an allergen statement, and an ingredient list, at a minimum 10-point font. A separate City of Tuscaloosa business license may also be required by the municipality.