How these determinations were made, which figures remain unresolved, and where widely-cited aggregator sites are wrong.
Every wholesale and channel determination in this guide is anchored to one of:
Where a determination rests on a secondary source, it is named inline. Where sources conflict, the conflict is stated rather than resolved silently.
These are known gaps. Verify before onboarding a maker in these states.
| State | Unresolved |
|---|---|
| New Hampshire | Licensed (Class H) tier fee — sources conflict between $50/year and $150/year. Verify against the NH DHHS fee schedule. |
| Utah | Revenue cap. Sources cite roughly $50,000; UDAF's own page does not clearly confirm a figure. |
| New York | Some 2026 third-party sources assert a $50,000 cap and a two-hour food-safety course. Official Ag & Markets materials publish neither. |
| Georgia | GDA's HB 398 FAQ claims interstate shipping is permitted. This conflicts with FDA jurisdiction and with several aggregators. Do not rely on it. |
| {.channel-table} |
Two programmes were not exhaustively re-verified at tier level — the exact restaurant and bar treatment in Utah, and New Hampshire's licensed tier. The wholesale channel itself is confirmed open in both. Confirm with the relevant department before signing maker agreements.
Third-party cottage food directories conflict with each other and go stale quickly. Specific errors found:
Statutes in this area are changing faster than at any point in roughly fifteen years. Changes within the last ~24 months:
| Jurisdiction | Change | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | SB 541 — wholesale opened, cap raised to $150K | 1 Sept 2025 |
| Hawaii | Act 195 / HB 2144 — wholesale opened | 24 Aug 2025 |
| Georgia | HB 398 — license, fee, and cap removed | 1 July 2025 |
| District of Columbia | D.C. Law 26-7 — wholesale to licensed food establishments added | 10 June 2025 |
| Alaska | HB 251 — Homemade Food Rule replaced the $25K cottage rule | Aug 2024 |
| Oklahoma | HB 2975 — $15 privacy registration | 1 Nov 2024 |
| South Carolina | SCDA assumed regulation | July 2024 |
| Oregon | SB 643 cap base, ODA indexing rule | Jan 2024 / 2026 |
Re-evaluate Tier 3 states annually. Several have moved from closed to open in a single legislative session.
Federal FDA jurisdiction overrides every state cottage exemption the instant product crosses a state line. No state-law wholesale permission changes this.
Treat the network as a set of independent intrastate operations unless a maker obtains federal facility registration.
This analysis covers non-TCS shelf-stable foods — products that do not require time or temperature control for safety. That classification is load-bearing: it is the reason wholesale is available at all in most of these states.
Where a statute names a specific product on its allowed list, that naming does not extend to other products. Wyoming names popcorn in its statutory non-PHF definition; Iowa, Utah, New York, DC, North Dakota, Arizona, West Virginia (caramel corn), and Tennessee name it on allowed-food lists. A different product must qualify on its own terms.
Products containing dairy, meat, high-moisture components, or anything requiring refrigeration are outside the scope of this guide and are generally excluded from these programmes entirely.