HB398: HB398 Food, drugs, and cosmetics; authorize production and sale of cottage food items with certain exemptions, requirements, and disclosures

Georgia law previously did not have a clear statewide system for so-called cottage foods, meaning foods made in a home kitchen rather than a licensed commercial facility. HB 398 changes that by adding a new article to the state's food safety code (O.C.G.A. Title 26). It defines 'cottage food items' as non-potentially hazardous foods or nonalcoholic drinks made and packaged at a home, excluding alcohol, cannabis-infused foods, and raw milk. People who make these items, called cottage food operators, can sell directly to consumers, online, by mail order, or to grocery stores and restaurants without needing a food sales establishment license. The bill requires operators to label products with contact information or an ID number and a disclosure that the food was made in an uninspected home kitchen and may contain allergens. It creates a warning-then-fine enforcement system, capped at $75 per violation, allows limited home inspections tied to complaints, and lets local governments only restrict sales through third-party stores, not ban cottage foods outright. The changes take effect once signed into law.

• Creates a new legal category called 'cottage food items,' allowing home cooks to sell non-potentially hazardous foods like jams, baked goods, and dried herbs without a commercial food license.
• Requires cottage food operators and sellers to label products or post signage disclosing the food was made in an uninspected home and may contain allergens.
• Sets up a warning system for violations, with a civil penalty of up to $75 per violation only after a second offense.
• Allows the Department of Agriculture to inspect a cottage food operator's home, but only in response to a complaint, foodborne illness report, or public health emergency, and only with advance notice except in emergencies.
• Bars counties and cities from banning or regulating cottage food items generally, though local governments may pass an ordinance restricting sales through third-party retail stores.
• Amends existing definitions of 'food sales establishment,' 'food service establishment,' and 'meat, poultry, or dairy processing plant' to exclude cottage food operators from those categories.

Home-based food producers who want to sell items like jams, baked goods, or dried herbs; grocery stores, restaurants, and other third-party vendors that might carry these products; county and municipal governments, whose ability to regulate cottage foods is now limited; and the Department of Agriculture, which gains new enforcement and inspection duties.

People who bake or make preserves at home could legally sell them to the public, online, or through local stores without obtaining a commercial food license, potentially opening a new source of income for small-scale food makers, while consumers would get disclosure labels warning that the food came from an uninspected kitchen.

• New Code Section 26-2-470 defines key terms, including 'cottage food item,' 'cottage food operator,' and 'non-potentially hazardous foods,' listing examples like baked goods, jams, dried fruit, and popcorn.
• Code Section 26-2-471 makes it illegal to operate as a cottage food operator without following the article, but exempts nonprofit or religious bake sales.
• Code Section 26-2-472 allows sales directly to consumers or to retail food establishments and requires stores selling cottage food items to post signage noting the products are not commercially inspected.
• Code Section 26-2-473 spells out required disclosures, including a printed statement that the product was made at a residential property exempt from state inspection and may contain allergens.
• Code Section 26-2-475 sets enforcement as a written warning for a first violation and a civil penalty of up to $75 per violation for repeat offenses.
• Code Section 26-2-476 permits the Department of Agriculture to inspect a cottage food operator's home in limited circumstances, generally with advance scheduling.
• Code Section 26-2-478 and new Code Section 36-60-33 let local governments restrict cottage food sales through third-party vendors via ordinance, but otherwise bar them from prohibiting or regulating cottage foods, including deliveries by commercial carriers.
• Sections 2 through 4 amend related definitions in Georgia's food code to exclude cottage food operators from the categories of licensed food sales establishments, food service establishments, and meat/poultry/dairy processing plants.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date 2025-07-01
2. 2025-05-13Act 193
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-08House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-04-02Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2025-03-18Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2025-03-13Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)

• Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)Primary sponsor
• Houston Gaines (R, HD-120)
• Katie Dempsey (R, HD-013)
• Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
• Brian Prince (D, HD-132)
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)
• Sam Watson (R, SD-011)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 3, 2025

   171 yea, 2 nay (1 not voting, 6 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #140

2. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2025

   54 yea, 2 nay

   Passage: Senate Vote #395

• cottage food laws
• home-based businesses
• food safety regulation
• local government authority
• small business