Cottage food rules
Tennessee Cottage Food Laws and Buttercream
A plain answer on buttercream under Tennessee's cottage food law, and the exact questions to ask before you sell.
On this page
What to remember
- The law’s formal name is the Tennessee Food Freedom Act, also called the Tennessee Cottage Food Law or the Cottage Food Industry Act.
- A 2025 amendment, effective July 1, allows the production and sale of certain time/temperature controlled foods.
- Buttercream usually contains butter, so treat it as a dairy item until you have an answer in writing.
- Under the bill text, items without dairy, meat, or poultry must be sold by you directly to the customer, in person or remotely.
- Homemade food items are exempt from state licensing, permitting, inspecting, packaging, and labeling laws, except in specified circumstances involving the department.
What the law actually says
The statute most bakers mean when they say cottage food is the Tennessee Food Freedom Act, and the state also refers to it as the Tennessee Cottage Food Law or the Cottage Food Industry Act. It covers homemade food items, which the law defines as food, including a non alcoholic beverage, that is produced and, if applicable, packaged at the producer’s private residence. Under present law, producing and selling those items is exempt from all licensing, permitting, inspecting, packaging, and labeling laws of the state, except in specified circumstances involving the department.
That exemption is wide, and it is why so many home bakers in Tennessee take orders without a license. It is not the same as a free pass on every recipe. The exemption is tied to homemade food items as the law defines them, and the department keeps a role in specified circumstances, so what is in your bowl still matters.
Where buttercream fits after the 2025 change
Effective July 1, 2025, the legislature amended the act, T.C.A. § 53-1-118, to allow the production and sale of certain time/temperature controlled foods. That is the change most relevant to frosting, because buttercream is perishable in a way a loaf of bread is not. The word to hold onto is certain. The amendment does not say every time/temperature controlled food, and the state page does not spell out a buttercream answer I can hand you.
Then there is the dairy question. Under the bill text, homemade food items that do not contain dairy, meat, or poultry must be sold either by the producer to the consumer, whether in person or remotely. Buttercream almost always starts with butter, so most buttercream sits on the dairy side of that sentence. Whether your version can be sold, and how, is a question for the department, not for a neighbor who has been doing it for years.
Before you take a buttercream order
Read your recipe line by line
Write down every ingredient and mark anything that is dairy, meat, or poultry. Butter, milk, cream, and buttermilk all count.
Ask the department about that recipe
Describe the buttercream, how long it sits out, how you chill it, and how the customer gets it. Ask whether it falls under the 2025 amendment.
Match your sales to the rule
Under the bill text, items without dairy, meat, or poultry must be sold by you directly to the consumer, in person or remotely. Do not route those sales through someone else.
Keep the answer on file
Save the email or letter with your order records and note the date. Rules change, and so does your menu.
Even where the packaging and labeling exemption applies, customers still ask what is in a cake. A simple card listing ingredients, allergens, and the date you made it takes five minutes and settles most of it. If you bake in more than one state, or you want to see how other states word their rules, the Ohio buttercream guide and the South Carolina statement guide are useful comparisons, and the Ohio labeling guide shows how label wording is handled elsewhere.
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The short version is that Tennessee gives home bakers a wide exemption, plus a recent amendment that reaches some perishable foods. Buttercream sits right on the dairy line, and the details of your recipe decide the rest. Ask first, keep the answer, and price the cake so the answer does not cost you money.
Common questions
Can I sell buttercream cakes from my home in Tennessee?
It depends on your recipe and on how the department applies the 2025 amendment. Buttercream usually contains butter, which is dairy, and the bill text treats items that do not contain dairy, meat, or poultry as a separate group. Get a written answer for your exact recipe before you take orders.
Do I need a license to sell homemade food in Tennessee?
Present law exempts the production and sale of homemade food items from all licensing, permitting, inspecting, packaging, and labeling laws of the state, except in specified circumstances involving the department.
What counts as a homemade food item?
The law defines it as food, including a non alcoholic beverage, that is produced and, if applicable, packaged at the private residence of the producer.
Can I sell remotely or ship my bakes?
The bill text says homemade food items that do not contain dairy, meat, or poultry must be sold by the producer to the consumer, whether in person or remotely. It does not settle every case, so confirm with the department for your items.
Does the 2025 change cover every frosting?
The amendment allows the production and sale of certain time/temperature controlled foods. Because it says certain, you cannot assume every frosting is included, and the state page does not list the covered foods in a way that settles buttercream for you.
Sources
This is general information about a state law, not legal or tax advice, and rules can change. Confirm your own recipe and how you sell it with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture before you take orders.