Selling dried sourdough starter in Missouri
What Missouri official sources actually say about selling dried sourdough starter under cottage food law — not on the published closed list — confirm. Last verified 2026-10-15.
If you keep a jar going in Missouri, 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
- Law
- Missouri Revised Statutes §196.298 - Definitions; Cottage Food Production Operation Not Deemed Food Service Establishment; No State or Local Regulation (Title XII, Chapter 196)
- Statute
- Mo. Rev. Stat. §196.298
- Agency
- Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
- Dried-starter read
- Not on the published closed list — confirm
- Annual sales cap
- No annual sales cap published in the statute row
- Registration / permit
- Registration required (statute row): No.
- Kitchen inspection
- Kitchen inspection (statute row): No.
- Food-handler training
- Food-handler training (statute row): No.
- Last verified
- 2026-10-15
Where in-state sales usually go
Sales cap, registration, allowed foods, and every county — free on Crosodo.
From the Crosodo statute row: Under §196.298, sales must be directly to consumers from the producer's home. Events, farmers markets, restaurants, retail stores, and roadside stands are not permitted under this law. Internet/online sales are allowed but only if both the producer and buyer are located in Missouri. Local health departments are explicitly prohibited from regulating the production of food at cottage food operations. A separate Missouri statute (individual stands law) allows sales at events and roadside stands in counties that have adopted it, permitting most other nonperishable foods.
County zoning, market manager rules, and home-occupation permits still apply on top of the state food rule. Start with the Missouri state guide and your county page.
Labeling
Labels must include the name and address of the cottage food production operation and a statement that the food is not inspected by the department or local health department. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is required to promulgate specific labeling rules implementing these requirements. No sales cap applies; no permit, inspection, or training is required.
Walk the fields in the Missouri 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.
- RSMo 196.298 — last verified 2026-10-15
- Mo. Rev. Stat. §196.298
- Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
- DHSS home-based kitchen food guidance (March 2026 PDF)
- Missouri extension
- Missouri cottage food state guide
- Selling cottage food in Missouri
- Missouri labeling guide
- All 50 states — dried starter hub
Missouri dried starter FAQ
Can I sell dried sourdough starter in Missouri?
RSMo 196.298 cottage-food operations may produce a baked good, a canned jam or jelly, or a dried herb or herb mix — and sell from the home, directly to consumers. Dried starter is not on that list. DHSS's March 2026 home-based kitchen guidance repeats the three-item cottage list, then explains a separate Missouri Food Code 'food establishment' exemption that local health departments may use for other non-PHF foods (examples include dry cookie, cake, bread, and soup mixes). Whether a dried culture can use that local-option path is a county question. Do not treat the May hard No as the only sentence in Missouri.
What is the Missouri cottage-food sales cap?
No annual sales cap published in the statute row
Can I ship dried sourdough starter out of Missouri under cottage food law?
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.
Crosodo Journal entries are recipe, craft, and cottage-food notes for home bakers. Recipes assume an active starter and basic equipment. Cottage food sales are governed by your state's law — start with the free state directory, check a product with Can I sell this?, or grab a label template. Not legal advice.
