Mississippi allows a wide range of shelf-stable home-made foods under Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951 — but only non-potentially hazardous products that don't require refrigeration after opening.
Mississippi cottage food law uses a single governing standard: only non-potentially hazardous (non-TCS) foods are allowed. A food is non-potentially hazardous if it can be kept safely at room temperature and does not require refrigeration to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria. The practical test is simple — if your product needs refrigeration after it's opened, it is not allowed under cottage food law.
This means an enormous range of baked goods, candies, jams, pickled products, dried foods, and snacks are fair game. Anything containing meat, dairy, eggs (other than shelf-stable preparations), or cooked vegetables is not. Mississippi's approved food list is broad enough to support a real, thriving food business — and thousands of Mississippi makers are already doing exactly that.
TCS stands for Temperature Control for Safety. TCS foods are those that support the rapid growth of pathogens when held at unsafe temperatures (between 41°F and 135°F — the "danger zone"). Mississippi cottage food law prohibits all TCS foods because home kitchens lack the commercial controls needed to manage these risks safely.
You can usually tell a TCS food by asking: does it need refrigeration to stay safe? If yes, it's a TCS food and cannot be sold as cottage food in Mississippi.
Based on Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-951, MSDH FAQ, and MSU Extension guidance. Contact MSDH to confirm any unlisted product.
Mississippi is one of the more generous states when it comes to acidified foods — vinegar-based pickles, properly acidified hot sauces, and similar products are allowed under the cottage food law. But "acidified" has a specific legal definition, and the rules exist for a critical reason: improperly preserved low-acid foods can support the growth of Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium responsible for botulism.
To qualify under Mississippi cottage food law, an acidified product must meet the standard described in 21 CFR Part 114 — meaning it has a finished equilibrium pH at or below 4.6 and a water activity greater than 0.85. These are the conditions that prevent botulism spores from producing their toxin. The key distinction: products that must be pressure-canned to be safe (low-acid foods like plain canned vegetables, beans, or meats) are not allowed, even if they end up shelf-stable.
Both conditions must be met for an acidified food to qualify under Mississippi cottage food law:
Mississippi State University Extension Service offers training on the safe production of acidified and pickled foods. While not legally required under current law, MSDH explicitly recommends this training for anyone producing pickles, hot sauce, or other acidified products. MSU Extension can be reached at extension.msstate.edu.
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