The mountain, mapped

catch the 2024-era state cottage food expansions — texas hb 970 broadened products + reach, florida cs/sb 1664 lifted cap to $250k, several states added refrigerated products. recheck your compliance baseline if your last review was pre-2022.

map your home-baking operation to the right state cottage food law (ca ab 1616, tx hb 970, ks hf 209) before you sell a single loaf — find which products you can legally make at home, the venue restrictions, and which states require a permit vs. just a label.

if your cottage operation also sells handmade soap, lip balm, or salt scrubs, you cross out of cottage food law into fda cosmetic / drug territory under ffdca §201(i) — know which products need cosmetic facility registration and which can stay under the soap exemption.

decode your state's permitted-food list for cottage operators — which baked goods, jams, and shelf-stable items are allowed, why cheesecake and cream-cheese frosting are usually banned (tcs rules), and what jam-jelly ph thresholds let you in legally.