Selling dried sourdough starter in Louisiana

If you keep a jar going in Louisiana, selling dried sourdough starter is a different cottage-food question than selling bread. The product is flour and water that you fermented, then dried. Official pages almost never use the words “dried starter.” This post only repeats what the current statute, agency page, or extension guide actually says — and where that source is silent.

Dried starter is not automatically a baked good

A loaf is baked. Dried starter is a dry culture. Some states publish a closed allowed-foods list (baked goods, jams, dried herbs). Some allow non-TCS / non-potentially-hazardous foods as a class. A few name baking mixes, dry mixtures, or — in Kansas — dehydrated sourdough starter. We do not stretch a baked-goods line into a dry-culture line unless a source supports that read.

The quick facts

The May 2026 guide printed $30,000. Act 801 (HB 403) changed R.S. 40:4.9(B) to $100,000 effective August 1, 2026. The legislature site digest we opened still has to be read against the enrolled chapter.

Where in-state sales usually go

From the Crosodo statute row: Most low-risk foods may be sold indirectly (to restaurants, retail stores), but breads, cakes, cookies, and pies specifically may NOT be sold to any retail business or individual for resale — they are direct-to-consumer only.

County zoning, market manager rules, and home-occupation permits still apply on top of the state food rule. Start with the Louisiana state guide and your county page.

Labeling

Labels must clearly indicate that the food was not produced in a licensed or regulated facility. Producers must also obtain and display a local sales tax certificate from the parish where they sell before selling any products.

Walk the fields in the Louisiana cottage food labeling guide. Do not copy another state's disclaimer.

Interstate / shipping across state lines

Cottage-food / homemade-food exemptions are in-state instruments. They do not, by themselves, authorize interstate commerce. Confirm manufactured-food licensing with the state agency and FDA facility registration for your facts. We do not invent a permit name or a fee.

Cottage-food exemptions are state instruments. They do not replace federal rules that apply when food enters interstate commerce. If you want to ship out of state, ask the state manufactured-food program and confirm FDA facility registration for your situation. We do not invent a license name or a fee here.

Official sources

Every number and product claim on this page is tied to a source opened on 2026-10-15, plus the Crosodo statute row and — where we have them — the regulations library notes for Maryland, Colorado, and Virginia.

• La. R.S. 40:4.9 — last verified 2026-10-15
• La. R.S. §40:4.13
• Louisiana Department of Health
• HB 403 / Act 801 résumé digest
• LDH cottage food laws
• Louisiana extension
• Louisiana cottage food state guide
• Selling cottage food in Louisiana
• Louisiana labeling guide
• All 50 states — dried starter hub