Bill Text: TX SB541 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Relating to cottage food production operations.

Sponsorship: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)

Status: (Passed) 2025-05-30 - Effective on 9/1/25 [SB541 Detail]

Download: Texas-2025-SB541-Enrolled.html

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S.B. No. 541

AN ACT
relating to cottage food production operations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 437.001, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subdivision (2-b) and adding Subdivisions (3)
and (5-a) to read as follows:
(2-b) "Cottage food production operation" means an
individual, operating out of the individual's home, or a nonprofit
organization that [who]:
(A) produces at the individual's home or the home
of an individual who is a director or officer of the nonprofit
organization, as applicable, any food other than [subject to
Section 437.0196]:
(i) meat, meat products, poultry, or
poultry products;
(ii) seafood, including seafood products,
fish, fish products, shellfish, and shellfish products;
(iii) ice or ice products, including shaved
ice, ice cream, frozen custard, popsicles, and gelato;
(iv) low-acid canned goods;
(v) products containing cannabidiol or
tetrahydrocannabinol; or
(vi) raw milk and raw milk products [a baked
good that is not a time and temperature control for safety food, as
defined by Section 437.0196;
[(ii) candy;
[(iii) coated and uncoated nuts;
[(iv) unroasted nut butters;
[(v) fruit butters;
[(vi) a canned jam or jelly;
[(vii) a fruit pie;
[(viii) dehydrated fruit or vegetables,
including dried beans;
[(ix) popcorn and popcorn snacks;
[(x) cereal, including granola;
[(xi) dry mix;
[(xii) vinegar;
[(xiii) pickled fruit or vegetables,
including beets and carrots, that are preserved in vinegar, brine,
or a similar solution at an equilibrium pH value of 4.6 or less;
[(xiv) mustard;
[(xv) roasted coffee or dry tea;
[(xvi) a dried herb or dried herb mix;
[(xvii) plant-based acidified canned
goods;
[(xviii) fermented vegetable products,
including products that are refrigerated to preserve quality;
[(xix) frozen raw and uncut fruit or
vegetables; or
[(xx) any other food that is not a time and
temperature control for safety food, as defined by Section
437.0196];
(B) has an annual gross income of $150,000
[$50,000] or less from the sale of food described by Paragraph (A),
as the department annually adjusts for inflation using the Consumer
Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) published by the United
States Bureau of Labor Statistics or its successor in function;
(C) sells the foods produced under Paragraph (A)
[only] directly to consumers or to a cottage food vendor; and
(D) delivers products to the consumer or cottage
food vendor at the point of sale or another location designated by
the consumer or cottage food vendor.
(3) "Cottage food vendor" means a person located in
this state who:
(A) has a contractual relationship with a cottage
food production operation; and
(B) sells directly to consumers located in this
state on behalf of the cottage food production operation a food
other than a time and temperature control for safety food.
(5-a) "Nonprofit organization" means an organization
exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(a), Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as an organization described by Section
501(c)(3) of that code.
SECTION 2. Section 437.0196(a), Health and Safety Code, is
redesignated as Section 437.001(8), Health and Safety Code, and
amended to read as follows:
(8) "Time [(a) In this section, "time] and
temperature control for safety food" means a food that requires
time and temperature control for safety to limit pathogen growth or
toxin production. The term includes a food that must be held under
proper temperature controls, such as refrigeration, to prevent the
growth of bacteria that may cause human illness. The term:
(A) [A time and temperature control for safety
food] may include a food that contains protein and moisture and is
neutral or slightly acidic, such as meat, poultry, fish, and
shellfish products, pasteurized and unpasteurized milk and dairy
products, raw seed sprouts, baked goods that require refrigeration,
including cream or custard pies or cakes, and ice products; and
(B) [. The term] does not include a food that
uses time and temperature control for safety food as ingredients if
the final food product does not require time or temperature control
for safety to limit pathogen growth or toxin production.
SECTION 3. Section 437.0191, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) Notwithstanding any other law, a cottage food
production operation that manufactures and distributes at
wholesale cottage food for resale by others is exempt from
department licensing requirements under Chapter 431.
SECTION 4. Section 437.0192, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to
read as follows:
(a) A local government authority, including a local health
department, may not:
(1) regulate the production of food at a cottage food
production operation; or
(2) require a cottage food production operation to
obtain any type of license or permit or pay any fee to produce or
sell directly to a consumer or cottage food vendor, or to provide
samples directly to a consumer, a food other than a food described
by Sections 437.001(2-b)(A)(i)-(vi).
(c) A local government authority, including a local health
department, may not employ or continue to employ a person who
knowingly requires or attempts to require a cottage food production
operation to obtain a license or permit in violation of Subsection
(a)(2).
SECTION 5. Section 437.0193, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections
(b-1) and (e) to read as follows:
(a) Food [described by Section 437.001(2-b)(A)] sold by a
cottage food production operation must be packaged in a manner that
prevents product contamination, except that a food item is not
required to be packaged if it is too large or bulky for conventional
packaging.
(b) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules requiring
a cottage food production operation to label all of the foods
[described in Section 437.001(2-b)(A) that] the operation sells to
consumers. The label must include:
(1) the name and address of the cottage food
production operation; and
(2) the following disclosure:
"THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT
SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION." [a statement that
the food is not inspected by the department or a local health
department.]
(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b)(1), a cottage food
production operation is not required to include on a food label the
address of the operation if the operation registers with the
department in the form and manner the department prescribes, and
includes on the label a unique identification number provided by
the department. The executive commissioner may adopt rules to
implement this subsection.
(e) A cottage food production operation that sells a time
and temperature control for safety food must include:
(1) on the food label the date the food was made; and
(2) on the food label or on an invoice or receipt
provided with the food when sold the following statement in at least
12-point font: "SAFE HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS: To prevent illness from
bacteria, keep this food refrigerated or frozen until the food is
prepared for consumption."
SECTION 6. Section 437.0194, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 437.0194. CERTAIN SALES BY COTTAGE FOOD PRODUCTION
OPERATIONS PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED. (a) Except as provided by
Subsection (a-1), a [A] cottage food production operation may not
sell food [any of the foods described in Section 437.001(2-b)(A)]
at wholesale.
(a-1) A cottage food production operation may sell to a
cottage food vendor at wholesale food other than a food described by
Sections 437.002(2-b)(A)(i)-(vi) or a time and temperature control
for safety food.
(b) A cottage food production operation may sell a food
other than a food described by Sections 437.002(2-b)(A)(i)-(vi)
[Section 437.001(2-b)(A)] in this state through the Internet [or by
mail order] only if:
(1) the consumer purchases the food through the
Internet [or by mail order] from the operation and the operator or
operator's employee or household member personally delivers the
food to the consumer; and
(2) subject to Subsection (c), before the operator
accepts payment for the food, the operator provides all labeling
information required by Section 437.0193(e) [437.0193(d)] and
department rules to the consumer by[:
[(A)] posting a legible statement on the
operation's Internet website[;
[(B) publishing the information in a catalog; or
[(C) otherwise communicating the information to
the consumer].
(c) The operator of a cottage food production operation that
sells a food [described by Section 437.001(2-b)(A)] in this state
in the manner described by Subsection (b):
(1) is not required to include the address of the
operation in the labeling information required under Subsection
(b)(2) before the operator accepts payment for the food; and
(2) shall provide the address or unique identification
number of the operation on the label of the food in the manner
required by Section 437.0193(b) or (b-1) after the operator accepts
payment for the food.
SECTION 7. Chapter 437, Health and Safety Code, is amended
by adding Sections 437.01953, 437.01955, and 437.01965 to read as
follows:
Sec. 437.01953. REQUIREMENTS FOR SALE OF CERTAIN FOOD. (a)
A cottage food production operation that sells to consumers a time
and temperature control for safety food shall:
(1) register with the department in the form and
manner prescribed by the department;
(2) store and deliver the food at the air temperature
necessary to prevent the growth of bacteria that may cause human
illness; and
(3) label the food in accordance with Section
437.0193.
(b) The executive commissioner may adopt rules to implement
this section.
Sec. 437.01955. SAMPLING AND DONATION OF COTTAGE FOOD. (a)
A cottage food production operation may provide samples of its
products to consumers at any location in this state in accordance
with the standards provided by Section 437.020(c).
(b) A cottage food production operation may donate food
other than time and temperature control for safety food for sale or
service at an event, including a religious or charitable
organization's bake sale, to the same extent an individual is
allowed by law to donate food.
Sec. 437.01965. COTTAGE FOOD VENDOR. (a) A cottage food
vendor may sell food produced by a cottage food production
operation in accordance with Section 437.0194(a-1) directly to
consumers at a farmers' market, a farm stand, a food service
establishment, or any retail store.
(b) A cottage food vendor who sells food described by
Subsection (a) must display in a prominent place near the location
where the food is offered for sale a sign with the following
disclosure:
"THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT
SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION."
(c) Food produced by a cottage food production operation and
sold by a cottage food vendor must include on the label the date the
food was made.
(d) A cottage food vendor that purchases food from a cottage
food production operation at wholesale shall register with the
department in the form and manner the department prescribes. The
executive commissioner may adopt rules to implement this
subsection.
SECTION 8. The following provisions of the Health and
Safety Code are repealed:
(1) Section 437.0193(d);
(2) Section 437.01952;
(3) the heading to Section 437.0196; and
(4) Section 437.0196(b).
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 541 passed the Senate on
April 10, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0; and that
the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 20, 2025, by the
following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 541 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 13, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 135,
Nays 5, three present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor