Missouri: the home-kitchen movement
Full cottage food Cottage food production operations (RSMo 196.298) · Missouri Food Code exemption for non-potentially-hazardous foods sold direct-to-consumer (local determination)
Missouri's home-kitchen law is its Cottage Food Law, RSMo 196.298, unchanged since 2022. An individual may produce non-potentially-hazardous baked goods, canned jams and jellies, and dried herbs/herb mixes in a primary-residence kitchen and sell them directly to consumers with no state or local food permit, license, or inspection — and local health departments are expressly barred from regulating cottage food production. There is no sales cap and online sales are allowed to Missouri buyers only (no interstate sales); proper labeling, including a 'not subject to inspection' statement, is mandatory. A separate Missouri Food Code exemption covers other non-potentially-hazardous foods (e.g., freeze-dried candy) only where local law allows, as determined by the local public health agency. Potentially hazardous foods, meat, dairy, eggs, salsa, pickles, and sauces must be produced in an inspected commercial facility.
Status, history, and administering agency are verified from the state law guide's primary sources. Supporter/opposition research for this state is still in progress — nothing is listed until it can be sourced.
Where it stands
Nothing changed in 2024–2026. The most recent amendment to RSMo 196.298 was HB 1697, signed in 2022 and effective August 28, 2022, which removed the $50,000 annual gross-income cap and allowed online sales to Missouri purchasers. In the 2026 session, Rep. Sassmann introduced HB 3108 (103rd General Assembly), which would have replaced the cottage food framework with a broad 'homemade food' food-freedom law — allowing producers to sell eggs, dairy products, non-potentially-hazardous foods through retail shops and grocery stores, and meat under limited conditions (poultry up to 1,000 birds, rabbit, farm-raised fish, animal-share agreements) with consumer disclosure and signage requirements. The bill was referred to the House Government Efficiency Committee on April 16, 2026 and died at sine die adjournment without a vote; the Missouri Revisor of Statutes' current text of section 196.298 confirms it was not enacted and no other 196.298 amendments have passed since 2022. No pending 2024–2026 bills changing the law were enacted.
Residents can find and support local kitchens through the Missouri hub — browse kitchens, read the law guide, and see what is cooking near you.
Cottage food fight in Missouri
- 2022 — Cottage food production operations (RSMo 196.298)
The most recent amendment to RSMo 196.298 was HB 1697, signed in 2022 and effective August 28, 2022, which removed the $50,000 annual gross-income cap and allowed online sales to Missouri purchasers. Source
How we got here
- 2024 — Cottage food production operations (RSMo 196.298)
Nothing changed in 2024–2026. Source - 2022 — Cottage food production operations (RSMo 196.298) Cottage food fight
The most recent amendment to RSMo 196.298 was HB 1697, signed in 2022 and effective August 28, 2022, which removed the $50,000 annual gross-income cap and allowed online sales to Missouri purchasers. Source - 2026 — Cottage food production operations (RSMo 196.298)
In the 2026 session, Rep. Source - — Cottage food production operations (RSMo 196.298)
Sassmann introduced HB 3108 (103rd General Assembly), which would have replaced the cottage food framework with a broad 'homemade food' food-freedom law — allowing producers to sell eggs, dairy products, non-potentially-hazardous foods through retail shops and grocery stores, and meat under limited conditions (poultry up to 1,000 birds, rabbit, farm-raised fish, animal-share agreements) with consumer disclosure and s Source
Supporters
Supporter research for this state is in progress — nothing is listed until it can be sourced.
Opposition
No on-record opposition has been verified for this state yet.
The deciders
Governor
Office of the Governor of Missouri (name not yet verified in this research pass)
Contact the deciders
A pre-written letter in Missouri's own terminology. The buttons open it in your email — addressed by you to the office above. Nothing sends until you press send.