Frozen meals, tamales, dumplings, soups and pies are time and temperature control for safety foods: they're safe because they're kept frozen or cold. That's why most cottage food laws exclude them: they cover shelf-stable foods like cookies and jam, and a frozen food business most often means a licensed kitchen and a state food license. A few states have opened the door: Idaho since March 2026 and Texas since September 1, 2025 let home cooks sell foods that need refrigeration, under conditions. In Texas, a cottage food operation can make any food except meat, poultry, seafood, ice cream and other ice products, low-acid canned goods, cannabis products and raw milk, and sell foods that need refrigeration after it registers with the Department of State Health Services, keeps them frozen or cold through delivery, and labels each package with the date made and a safe handling statement. Online orders are allowed with personal delivery; selling those foods to stores isn't. In the example below, a San Antonio home cook sells frozen tamales. Below are the layers, Texas's rules, the example, and a free checklist.
The short version
- Frozen foods need refrigeration for safety, so most cottage food laws exclude them.
- Most frozen food businesses run from a licensed kitchen under a state food license.
- Texas, since September 1, 2025: home cooks can sell foods that need refrigeration after registering.
- Texas excludes meat, poultry, seafood, ice cream and other ice products, low-acid canned goods, cannabis and raw milk.
- Texas labels add the date made and a safe handling statement in 12-point type.
- Online orders in Texas need personal delivery; frozen foods can't go to stores.
- Texas caps cottage food at $150,000 a year, adjusted for inflation.
- TaroStack keeps each batch's date and which customers got it. More below.
The layers
| Layer | Who issues it | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | State | An assumed name if you sell under another name |
| Cottage food or a food license | State | Whether your state's cottage food law allows foods that need refrigeration |
| Food handler training | State | A course before you start, where required |
| Label | State | The home kitchen statement, the date made, handling instructions |
| Keeping it frozen | State | Storage and delivery temperatures |
| A licensed kitchen | State or local health department | For stores, other states, or foods cottage food excludes |
How to pack frozen food is in how to package frozen food for sale, and the business in how to start a frozen food business. Every state differs; this is general information, not legal advice.
Texas's rules
| Rule | Texas Health and Safety Code |
|---|---|
| Foods | Any food but meat, poultry, seafood, ice and ice products such as ice cream and popsicles, low-acid canned goods, cannabis products and raw milk (437.001) |
| Income limit | $150,000 a year, adjusted for inflation each year (437.001) |
| Training | An accredited food handler course (437.0195) |
| Foods that need refrigeration | Register with the department; store and deliver them cold enough to stop bacteria growing (437.01953) |
| The label | Name and address, or the department's ID number; "THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION."; the date made; the safe handling statement (437.0193) |
| Online | Internet sales with delivery by you, an employee or a household member, the label information posted first (437.0194) |
| Wholesale | Not for foods that need refrigeration (437.0194) |
| Local permits | No city or county license, permit or fee for allowed foods (437.0192) |
The law is in chapter 437. More in Texas cottage food law, and the food handler course in Texas food handler card.
An example: a San Antonio home cook
Olmos Basin Tamales, a made-up home tamale maker in San Antonio, Texas, I use in these examples, sells frozen tamales by the dozen through its website, delivered by the owner:
| Product | Allowed? | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Bean and cheese tamales, frozen | Yes | Registration, kept frozen, date made and safe handling statement |
| Rajas con queso tamales, frozen | Yes | The same |
| Pork tamales | No | Meat is excluded |
| Sweet pineapple tamales | Yes | Check whether they need refrigeration; labeled the same way to be safe |
| Tamales for a corner store | No | Foods that need refrigeration can't be sold wholesale |
| Layer | Status |
|---|---|
| Food handler course | Done September 2025 |
| Registration with the department | Done October 2025 |
| Label | State ID number, the residence statement, date made, safe handling statement in 12-point type |
| Delivery | Owner delivers in a cooler with ice packs |
| Product liability insurance | Renews January 15, 2027 |
The pork tamales stay a family recipe until the business moves to a licensed kitchen; a paleta maker in the same city needs one from the start, because ice products are excluded, as in popsicle business plan.
Get the checklist
Download the license to sell frozen food checklist. One sheet: each layer, who issues it, what it is, whether you need it, the cost, the date done and the renewal date; the status and the total cost fill in. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
Every package needs its date made, the freezer holds a dozen batches, and customers order online for delivery: a checklist doesn't know which batch is oldest or who got it.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each batch's date, and which customers got it.
Each batch dated. A batch of tamales takes the masa, cheese and chiles off stock by lot and gets a lot with its production date, so the date made on the label comes from the batch, and lot labels print for the packages.
Oldest first. First-expired-first-out is the default, so the oldest batch in the freezer goes out first.
Where it went. Each online order records the lots it got, so one recall report shows every customer a batch reached.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| The date made on a package | Written by hand | From the batch's lot |
| Which batch goes out first | Dig through the freezer | First-expired-first-out |
| Which customers got a batch | Order emails | One recall report |
Batches, lots, expiry and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.