Selling dried sourdough starter in Massachusetts

If you keep a jar going in Massachusetts, 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

Where in-state sales usually go

From the Crosodo statute row: Massachusetts residential kitchens are treated as food establishments, so permitted operators may sell at any venue within the state including restaurants and retail stores, without the wholesale restriction that most cottage food laws impose. Mail order and catering are prohibited. Local boards of health administer permits and may impose additional restrictions.

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

Labeling

Labels must include all ingredients in order of amount by volume, a list of allergens, the name of the residential kitchen, address and/or phone number, and a sell-by date if required. Full requirements are governed by 105 CMR 520.000 Massachusetts Labeling Regulations. No specific cottage-food disclaimer statement is required by statute, though local boards of health may impose additional requirements.

Walk the fields in the Massachusetts 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.

• Mass.gov residential kitchen permit — last verified 2026-10-15
• 105 CMR 590.009(D)
• Massachusetts Department of Public Health
• Massachusetts extension
• Massachusetts cottage food state guide
• Selling cottage food in Massachusetts
• Massachusetts labeling guide
• All 50 states — dried starter hub