Mississippi's cottage food law, Miss. Code Ann. 75-29-951, lets a home cook make foods that don't need refrigeration in the kitchen of their private home, breads, cookies, candy, fruit pies, jams and jellies, granola, dry rubs, and even pickles and other acidified foods, with no permit or inspection, up to $35,000 in gross sales a year. The catch is how you sell: directly to the final customer, in person, in Mississippi, from your home or at farmers markets and fairs. You can advertise online and on social media, but online sales, shipping, stores and wholesale aren't allowed. Every product carries a label with a set statement in 10-point type. A 2026 bill to raise the limit to $200,000, HB 1108, died in committee. In the example below, a Bolivar County cook sorts six products. Below are the rules, the foods, the label, pickles, the example, and a free checklist.
The short version
- No permit; the Department of Health inspects only on a complaint.
- Foods that don't need refrigeration, even after opening, made and stored in your home.
- Up to $35,000 in gross annual sales.
- Sell in person, directly to the final customer, in Mississippi: from home, farmers markets, county and municipal fairs.
- Advertise online, but don't sell online, ship, or sell to stores or wholesale.
- Acidified foods such as pickles are allowed at pH 4.6 or below; testing and training are strongly encouraged.
- Label: name and address, product, ingredients, net weight, allergens, and "Made in a Cottage Food operation that is not subject to Mississippi's food safety regulations."
- TaroStack keeps each batch's lot, its pH, and the year's sales. More below.
The rules
| Rule | What MSDH and MSU Extension say |
|---|---|
| Where made | The kitchen of your private home, whether owned or rented; not a shed, barn or rented kitchen |
| Storage | In the home, in the kitchen or an attached room used only for storage |
| Limit | $35,000 in gross annual sales |
| Selling | Directly to the final customer, in person, from home, at farmers markets, fairs and similar settings |
| Not allowed | Online sales, shipping, retail or wholesale stores |
| Where | Mississippi only |
| Inspection | Only on a complaint of adulterated or unsafe food |
| Equipment | Ordinary home equipment; nothing commercial-grade required |
MSDH's FAQ lists the foods and the label, and MSU Extension's P3286 explains where you can sell. This is general information, not legal advice.
What you can make
| Allowed | Not allowed |
|---|---|
| Baked goods without cream, custard or meat fillings: breads, biscuits, cookies, pastries, tortillas | Custard pies and other dairy foods |
| Candy; chocolate-covered pretzels, nuts and fruit (not melons) | Meat, fish, poultry, eggs (except air-dried hard-cooked eggs in the shell) |
| Dried fruit, dried pasta, dried spices, dry rubs, dry baking mixes | Cooked vegetables, potatoes, beans, rice |
| Fruit pies; granola, cereal, trail and nut mixes; popcorn; waffle cones | Nut butters, juices, garlic in oil |
| Jams, jellies and preserves to the 21 CFR 150 standard; vinegar and mustard | Low-acid canned foods, smoked fish |
| Acidified foods at pH 4.6 or below, such as pickles | Sprouts, sliced melons |
Which foods need refrigeration is in TCS foods list.
The label
| Line | What it says |
|---|---|
| Operation | Name and address of the cottage food operation |
| Product | The name of the product |
| Ingredients | In descending order by weight |
| Net quantity | Net weight or volume |
| Allergens | As federal labeling requires, naming the specific tree nut |
| Statement | "Made in a Cottage Food operation that is not subject to Mississippi's food safety regulations." At least 10-point, in a contrasting color |
A nutrition panel is needed only if you make a nutritional claim. How to work out the allergens in a recipe is in allergen matrix template.
Pickles and acidified foods
Acidified foods, such as pickled cucumbers, okra, peppers or cabbage, are allowed if they reach an equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below. Fermented products like sauerkraut and kimchi need extra testing and process approval. MSU Extension recommends testing pH 24 hours after processing and recording the pH, recipe source, date and quantity of each batch, and suggests its Acidified Canned Foods course. How readings are taken is in pH testing for acidified foods.
An example: a Bolivar County cook
Delta Pantry, a made-up home cook in Cleveland, Mississippi, I use in these examples, sells at a Saturday market and from home:
| Product | Allowed? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tea cakes | Yes | Baked goods without cream fillings |
| Muscadine jelly | Yes | Jellies to the federal standard |
| Pickled okra | Yes | Acidified, pH 4.6 or below, recorded each batch |
| Sweet potato pie | No | Custard-style pies need refrigeration |
| Delta hot tamales | No | Meat isn't allowed |
| Pralines shipped to a customer | No | No shipping or online sales |
The cook posts the week's menu on social media, which Mississippi allows as advertising, and sells from home and the market. By September Delta Pantry had sold $27,900, 80% of $35,000, with the holiday season ahead. How a home food business starts is in how to start a cottage food business.
Get the checklist
Download the Mississippi cottage food checklist. Three sheets: the label, each line with a column for yours; products, each with whether it's allowed and why; and sales by month against $35,000, red past 90%. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
At $35,000 the exemption ends, and the holidays are when a home cook's sales jump. The pickle batches need their pH written down. Market cash, home pickups and a notebook of pH readings are three places to keep current by hand.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each batch's lot, its pH, and the year's sales.
Each batch dated. A batch of pickled okra gets a lot with its production and best-before dates, and lot labels print with it.
Readings on the batch. Fields of your own on the batch record hold the pH, recipe source and quantity MSU Extension recommends recording.
The year's sales. Market and pickup orders sit together, with Square connected for market sales, so the total against $35,000 comes from the records; every list exports to CSV.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| A batch's date | Written on the jar | The batch's lot and dates |
| A batch's pH | A log sheet | A field on the batch record |
| The year's sales | Added up by hand | From the orders, exported to CSV |
Lots, batches, orders and lot labels 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.