Can I sell barbecue from my home in Texas? So in this video on cottage food laws, we're going to dive into this question, which seems to be extremely popular in the state of Texas, but there is a little bit of misunderstanding as to what you can and cannot make from home under cottage food laws. Some Links in this blog are affiliate links we may recieve compensation for use of these links.
This is Damian Roberti. Welcome to cottage food laws. It is YouTube's brand new home-based food entrepreneur channel, all dedicated to cottage food laws and creating home-based food businesses and then launching them and developing them into full-time businesses and commercial facilities.
So let's dive into this particular question about barbecue in the state of Texas. Of course, From what I heard, that is a very popular type of food in Texas, which is one of the best places to eat. I've actually never been to Texas myself, but I've heard that the barbecue is pretty crazy. But can you sell barbecue from home now if you're talking about smoking meats, proteins, cooking proteins, and such and selling them out of your house? The answer is no. Unfortunately, you cannot do that legally. You're not allowed to do that.
Now, if you have a food truck, or if you have a mobile food unit, or a separate structure or building on your own property, and if the local ordinances and laws allow you to do it within the city or county, you potentially could, but can you do it directly from your home? Not at all.Under the Texas cottage food laws, the list of items that you can make does not include anything that is time or temperature sensitive. And that is a product that would have to be kept at a certain temperature or consumed within a certain timeframe.
These are products or food items that are deemed potentially hazardous, which is why you cannot sell barbecue from your home in Texas.Having said that, you can if you have a delicious or very unique recipe for a barbecue rub, seasoning mix, dry mix, or blend.Yes, you can actually sell that from your home. That is something you can sell under Texas cottage food laws. And that has to be something that's made in your own kitchen, and it has to be packaged and, of course, labeled correctly. Now I'm not going to get too detailed into Texas cottage food loss specifically in this video because I was answering this question from a subscriber in regards to the barbecue question. But you can definitely do that.
Yes, you can sell dry herbs and mixes from the home that are related to barbecues, and in some cases, as a matter of fact, depending on the actual pH level of the barbecue sauce, you can do that as well. Now, I'm just double checking my notes. You definitely need to make sure that the pH level is less than 4.6. In most cases, you can do that as well.
So if you've got a barbecue sauce or marinate or seasoning or spice blend that is barbecue related, you can most certainly do that. So the one thing you need to know about Texas cottage food laws is that if you start to sell these types of barbecue items, you are limited on several things. Number one, you can't sell more than $50,000 a year in your home with that particular product.
You also have to sell it directly to the consumer. So that means that you need to go to farmers' markets, local venues, local fairs, festivals, and different events of that sort, and you need to sell it directly to the customer itself. You can't sell your barbecue dry mix rubs that you make at home to, let's say, a restaurant for use in that. So that's not allowed for a retail store to resell it to their customers. Third-party sellers like that If you were to take that product to a restaurant or a cafe or local barbecue place and start to sell it, that's something you can't do without a commercial kitchen or a commercially licensed facility. You'd have to do that separately. Okay, so that makes sense. So, the idea of selling barbecue out of your home is definitely something that you can't do and pretty much not in all states in regards to their cottage food laws.
That's pretty much the same across the board. You want to make sure that you're in a commercial kitchen when you start to produce it to sell it to retailers, wholesale it, or begin to supply a local barbecue, maybe pitmaster or local barbecue restaurant. If they're interested in your spice mix or seasoning blend, you can maybe make a sample at home, let them try it, but you can't produce it and then begin to sell it and market it that way. You have to sell it directly to the customer. Now, the one thing that's really cool, though, is that in the state of Texas, their cottage food laws allow you to sell it anywhere within the state. Let's say you were to go to a different city, a different county, or a different part of the state. Make sure you double check to see if you do need a separate business license in order to collect sales tax in that city or county, but you can go to a different event within the state of Texas as long as you make the transaction directly with the customer and they have to have the item in hand.
There's a lot of misleading information out there on the internet about shipping products, and you can't, under cottage food laws, ship a product across state lines. Nor could you actually ship a product to another city or county in the state. You have to actually deliver and transact in person. So I hope that answers that question. Yes, Texas barbecue is one of the best, but it's definitely something that you can't do from home legally. And I'm sure there are quite a few of you out there that will probably end up making barbecue by yourself and just doing it anyway, but make sure you follow the law and definitely follow the guidelines guys, just to make sure you keep yourself safe.
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Now, if you want to start a business making barbecue rubs or seasonings from scratch, most cottage food laws do not require you to have a business license, or even inspections in some states, or even an incorporation, or even food business insurance.Be sure you guys are getting some type of LLC for your business, getting a business license and getting yourself food business insurance. When you deal with the food business, even if it's cottage food, that doesn't exempt you from being liable. If somebody gets sick from eating the product that you have or goes to the hospital gets ill, they could technically sue you and you personally would be responsible for any damages and such in court if you don't have an LLC or have some type of business policy set up for your food business.
So don't take any chances with it. If you really love barbecue, you want to get into the business, maybe have a barbecue sauce or seasoning. Do it, go for it. But do it in a way that makes it safe for you that you're not going to be held personally liable for what happens. So if you have any more questions about Texas cottage food laws in regards to barbecue, let us know down below or if you are actually running the business from home. Let us know what your experience is. And I'll see you guys in our next video.