Cottage Food Samples
Simplified. Fixed as of September 1, 2025.
Sampling was not addressed by the cottage food law from 2011-2025, leading to many misunderstandings between cottage food producers and local health authorities, wasteful overpackaging of samples, and the imposition of “food establishment” permit fees on cottage food producers who wanted to give out samples at events.
SB 541 addresses and clarifies not only how cottage food producers may distribute samples, but that a local health department or government may not charge a fee or require a permit of a cottage food producer for distributing samples.
You can only give out samples of foods that are allowed to be sold as cottage foods; for example, if your product is a dry spice rub, you can’t sample meat prepared with that rub.
Look familiar? These are the same rules for sampling at farmers' markets. Now they apply to all cottage food producers at any location.
(1) samples must be distributed in a sanitary manner;
(2) a person preparing produce samples on-site must:
(A) wear clean, disposable plastic gloves when preparing samples; or
(B) observe proper hand washing techniques immediately before preparing samples;
(3) produce intended for sampling must be washed in potable water to remove any soil or other visible material;
(4) potable water must be available for washing; (this can be as easy as a 1-gallon jug of water, does not have to be a complicated handwashing station).
(5) Time and temperature control for safety (TCS) food must be maintained at or below 41 degrees Fahrenheit or disposed of within two hours after cutting or preparing; and
(6) utensils and cutting surfaces used for cutting samples must be smooth, nonabsorbent, and easily cleaned or disposed of.
