Chapter 1

What You Can Sell in Wyoming

Wyoming's Food Freedom Act takes a different approach than most states: it's permissive by default. Almost any food or drink that isn't mammalian meat is allowed — including perishables and refrigerated items other states prohibit. Here's the complete open, restricted, and prohibited list for Wyoming home food sellers.

Product Status

Three categories. Clear rules.

Every food category falls into one of three buckets under the Food Freedom Act. Most Wyoming home foods are Open — they can be sold freely. A smaller set is Restricted with specific conditions. Only one category is outright Prohibited.

Open

Clearly Allowed

Sell freely under the Food Freedom Act, direct to informed end consumers.
  • Baked goodsBreads, cookies, cakes, pies, muffins, scones, brownies, biscotti
  • Jams, jellies & preservesIncluding low-sugar, marmalades, fruit butters, chutneys
  • Pickles & fermented foodsPickled vegetables, sauerkraut, kimchi
  • Sauces & condimentsHot sauce, BBQ, salsa, dressings, vinegars, infused oils
  • Candy & confectionsChocolates, fudge, caramels, brittle, marshmallows
  • Honey, syrups & sweetenersIncluding infused honey and maple
  • Spices, rubs & seasoning blendsIncluding finishing salts and herb blends
  • SnacksGranola, popcorn, chips, crackers, dried fruit and nuts
  • Dry mixesBaking, soup, pasta, pancake mixes
  • Kombucha & craft beveragesShrubs, cold brew, tea blends, specialty lemonade
Restricted

Allowed With Conditions

Permitted under specific conditions — usually direct-to-consumer only, or subject to federal limits.
  • Prepared meals & TCS foodsAllowed — but direct sale only, not through retail stores
  • Dairy productsCheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream — direct sale to informed consumer
  • Raw (unpasteurized) milkAllowed under WFFA with unpasteurized label; direct sale only
  • EggsUngraded eggs allowed if producer has fewer than 3,000 hens
  • Poultry productsMust be raised AND processed by producer; max 1,000 birds/year
  • Rabbit meatHome-processed domestic rabbit allowed; direct sale only
  • Farm-raised fishAllowed per Wyo. Stat. Title 23 (Game & Fish) — except catfish
  • Juice & cold-pressed beveragesAllowed direct; federal pasteurization rules apply at retail
  • Retail store salesNon-perishable products only; separate shelf placement required
  • CateringOnly to a private home — not public or commercial venues
Prohibited

Not Permitted

Cannot be sold under the Food Freedom Act. Most require separate state or federal licensing.
  • Mammalian meat productsBeef, pork, lamb, goat, bison — USDA requires federal inspection
  • Wild game & wild fishProhibited by Wyo. Stat. § 23-3-302 (game and fish law)
  • CatfishRegulated under USDA Meat Inspection Act
  • Out-of-state shippingNo mail or courier delivery — Wyoming transactions only
  • Interstate salesWFFA applies only to intrastate commerce
  • Out-of-state producersOnly Wyoming-based producers qualify under the Act
  • Sales to commercial food establishmentsRestaurants and commercial kitchens cannot use WFFA products unless fully inspected
  • On-site cooking at farmers marketsConverts operation to a temporary food stand requiring a license
  • Alcohol (home-produced)Beer, wine, spirits require a separate brewery/winery/distillery license
Understanding The Rules

Why Wyoming works differently.

Most state cottage food laws work by approved list — a narrow catalog of non-perishable items (jams, cookies, dry mixes) that sellers are allowed to produce, with everything else implicitly prohibited. Wyoming reverses that logic. The Food Freedom Act starts from the premise that producers and informed end consumers can transact freely, and then carves out a few narrow exceptions driven mostly by federal law.

The key distinction: TCS vs non-TCS. "TCS" stands for Time/Temperature Control for Safety — foods that must stay refrigerated or frozen to remain safe, like meat, dairy, eggs, cooked vegetables, and cut melons. Wyoming allows TCS foods to be sold direct to consumer under the Food Freedom Act, but restricts them from retail-shelf sales. Non-TCS (shelf-stable) foods can be sold through both direct and retail channels.

The other major boundary is federal. Wyoming cannot override USDA meat inspection requirements, so mammalian meat products — whether made from store-bought beef or a rancher's own cattle — fall outside the Act. The only meat exception is poultry under USDA's 1,000-bird small producer exemption, and farm-raised fish (except catfish, which USDA also regulates). Wild game is separately prohibited by state fish-and-game law.

Everything else — the full spectrum of artisan food that most makers actually want to produce — is fair game. Baked goods, canned preserves, hot sauces, chocolates, cheese, kombucha, prepared meals, even raw milk are all allowed under the Act, subject to the channel restrictions described above and the $250,000 annual revenue cap.

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