Kansas  Cottage Food Law

Food Types​

What Can Be Sold. Food you can sell is limited to non TCS (Temperature Control for Safety) only – this is standard across the country as all cottage food operations are limited to non-potentially hazardous / TCS foods. Kansas Department of Agriculture authorizes the sale of cookies, breads, cakes, cinnamon rolls, fruit pies, fruit cobbler, Refrigerated, frozen, or freeze dried cookie dough, pizza dough, cookie mix, brownie mix and Icing/frosting, including cream cheese-based, with >65% sugar by weight among other things.

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Breads, such as zucchini bread or banana bread, must have vegetables or fruits completely incorporated into the batter and be properly baked. Follow labeling requirements as listed in labeling section.

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What Can't Be Sold. Cottage foods not allowed for sale without proper licensing or testing to determine if a license is required include include cream or meringue pies, custards, cheesecakes, cream-filled cupcakes or donuts, cream cheese-based frostings or fillings (unless >65% sugar content), pumpkin pie, pecan pie.​ Breads with cheese and/or vegetables (e.g. jalapenos) baked in/on them require testing to determine their category.

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Pet Treats. A food safety license is not required, and products may be made in a home kitchen. However, pet food and treats, regardless of the type of ingredients in the product or the method of preparation, require a Kansas commercial feed license and small pet product application. More information available from: https://www.agriculture.ks.gov/divisions-programs/dairy-and-feed-safety/feed-safety/feed-licenses.

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Catering. Under K.S.A. 65-689(d)(6) a person is allowed to offer foods and beverages intended for immediate consumption — six or fewer times per calendar year. No licensing is required; however, you must follow Kansas Administrative Regulations (KAR) 4-28-33. Note that this would also include cooking classes and competitions, such as BBQ competitions. There is also a great resource discussing this called Food Handling Guidelines for Exempt Food Vendors.

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Where Can You Sell

Annual Sales Cap. Once someone starts a Kansas cottage food operation, the state puts no cap on annual revenue.​

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Where Can You Sell​

Where Can You Sell. Kansas cottage food producers may sell their products at farmers’ markets, roadside stands and other venues that allow direct-to-consumer sales. Kansas also allows home pickup and delivery of cottage food. Online sales may occur within Kansas and across state lines. A guide from the Kansas Department of Agriculture says: “Note that for foods sold online to a person in another state(s), the seller must also follow the rules of the receiving state(s).” and you must meet all federal requirements as well in order to ship.

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Where Can't You Sell. Kansas prohibits cottage food sales through third-party vendors, such as grocery stores and restaurants.​

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Labeling Requirements

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Required Labeling. Kansas cottage food producers must package their products with labels that include the following information: Common name of the product, name and physical address of the person that made or is selling the product, product ingredients in descending order of predominance, and quantity (net weight, volume, or count, depending on product).​

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Uninspected food products made in Kansas do NOT need to be labeled as “homemade” or other indication that they are not inspected. However, homemade food products can be labeled as such
 

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Business Registration

 

Sales Tax. Cottage Food Sellers must obtain a Retail Sales Tax certificate. While most bakery items are exempt from state sales tax, county and local sales taxes will still need to be collected and remitted, More information and online registration and sales tax remitting is available from the Kansas Department of Revenue website https://www.ksrevenue.gov/business.html

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When it comes to sales tax, Kansas is a destination based state. This means the sales tax rate that is charged is based on the where the customer takes delivery of the merchandise, not based on your location as the baker. KS Pub. KS-1510. You can look up the tax rate for a specific address on the KDR Website by clicking here.

 

Filing as a Business Entity. The Office of the Secretary of State (SOS) has more information, and the appropriate forms available from: https://sos.ks.gov/businesses/register-a-business.html or 785-296-4564. Sole proprietorships do NOT file with the SOS. General partnerships may file if desired, but it is not required.

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Best Practices

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Food Handler Training. Kansas cottage food laws does NOT require you take a food safety and handling course. But, knowing the safe handling practices will protect you and your customers. You can take an online Food Handler course and get your certificate from several credible websites, including ServeSafe (click here to see their food handler course which is only $15.00).

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KDA Food Safety and Hygiene Requirements for Cottage Fooda.  Kansas Department of Agriculture has a helpful website to go over the requirements for exempt food establishments (aka cottage food producers): https://sos.ks.gov/publications/pubs_kar_Regs.aspx?KAR=4-28-33

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Liability Insurance. I work as a Legal Assistant during the day and trust me when I say that we live in a society that likes to sue. Liability insurance is a MUST have to protect yourself. The most popular option for this is FLIP https://www.fliprogram.com/ensure-your-peace-of-mind and they seem to be the most reasonable cost wise for this, but of course you should price shop with your local agent or a national brand company before choosing the option that is best for you and your business.

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What About my Pets? Per the KDA Food Safety and Hygiene Requirements 4-28-33(c) Animals shall not be permitted in food preparation areas.

 

Additional Resources

 

Below are some additional resources regarding Kansas Cottage Food Laws and a recap of the links provided above for easy reference.

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​Kansas Department of Agriculture Guide https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/foods-sold-directly-to-consumers-in-kansas-regulations-and-food-safety-best-practices_MF3138.pdf

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Kansas Food Labeling Guide https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/download/food-labeling-for-kansas-food-producers-and-processors_MF3385

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KDA-FSL Materials https://www.agriculture.ks.gov/divisions-programs/food-safety-and-lodging

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KDA Food Safety and Hygiene Requirements.  https://sos.ks.gov/publications/pubs_kar_Regs.aspx?KAR=4-28-33

 

Kansas Department of Revenue (Sales Taxes) https://www.ksrevenue.gov/business.html

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Kansas Secretary of State (Business Registration) https://sos.ks.gov/businesses/register-a-business.html

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Institute for Justice https://ij.org/issues/economic-liberty/homemade-food-seller/kansas/

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Texas Cottage Food Law Lab Tested Recipes for Bakers https://texascottagefoodlaw.com/recipes/