Food and Food Products

Plain English Breakdown

The exact penalties for noncompliance are not specified in the official source material.

Rules for Homemade Food Sales in Tennessee

This law changes how homemade food items are defined and sold in Tennessee by adding new requirements for labeling and delivery.

What This Bill Does

• Defines a homemade food item as one made by or under the direct supervision of the producer at their private home, excluding certain types of foods like meat, poultry, and fish products unless they meet federal exemptions.
• Requires that certain foods must be labeled with specific information such as the producer's name, address, ingredients, production date if applicable, and a statement about allergens.
• Limits how some types of homemade food items can be sold based on federal laws and regulations.
• Specifies that potentially hazardous foods must be kept at an appropriate temperature during transport.

Who It Names or Affects

• Producers who sell homemade food items in Tennessee
• Consumers buying these food items

Terms To Know

Time/temperature control for safety foods

Foods that need to be kept at a certain temperature to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.

Non-time/temperature control for safety food

Foods that do not require specific temperatures to stay safe.

Limits and Unknowns

• The law could lead to noncompliance with federal standards, potentially affecting state funding.
• It does not specify the exact penalties for not following these rules.
• Some aspects of how this will affect producers and consumers are unclear without further guidance from the Department of Agriculture.

Official Summary Text

Present law provides that a homemade food item is a food item,
including a non-alcoholic beverage, which is produced and, if packaged, packaged at the private residence of the person who produces it.

This bill revises the present law definition to, instead, provide that a homemade food item is produced by or under t
he direct supervision of the producer at the producer's private residence, and either, as defined by the department of agriculture, a non-time/temperature control for safety food or time/temperature control for safety food, which is food that does not req
u
ire time or temperature control for safety to limit the rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms. Homemade food, however, does not include alcoholic beverages, unpasteurized milk or foods that are, or that contain, alcoholic

beverages, fish and shellfish products, meat, meat by-products, poultry, or poultry by-products, except to the extent that the sale of those items is permissible under federal law.

REQUIREMENTS FOR AN EXEMPTION

Present law provides that the production a
nd sale of homemade food items are exempt from all licensing, permitting, inspecting, packaging, and labeling laws of this state, except when the department of health is investigating a reported foodborne illness. This bill adds that a producer may sell
h
omemade food items in this state to the extent permitted by federal law, unless otherwise restricted by this bill. The exemption only applies if certain requirements are met, including the following:

Orders and Delivery

To qualify for an exemption, th
is bill requires homemade food items that do not contain dairy, meat, or poultry to be sold either by the producer to the consumer, whether in person or remotely, or an agent of the producer or a third-party vendor, such as a retail shop or grocery store,

to the consumer; and such must be delivered either by the producer to the consumer; or an agent of the producer, a third-party vendor, or a third-party carrier to the consumer.

This bill also requires that homemade food items that contain dairy, meat, or
poultry must be sold by the producer to the consumer, whether in person or remotely, and must be delivered by the producer to the consumer.

Labeling

To qualify for an exemption, present law requires all of the following information be provided to the
consumer:



The name, home address, and telephone number of the producer of the homemade food item.



The common or usual name of the homemade food item.



The ingredients of the homemade food item in descending order of predominance.



The following statement: "This product was produced at a private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens."

This bill also requires for the exemption, that for homemade food items that are potentially hazardous or time/temperature control for safety foods, the date that the homemade food item was produced must be provided to the consumer.

Temperature

To qualify for an exemption, this bill requires that if a homemade food item is potentially hazardous or ti
me/temperature control for safety food and is transported before final delivery to consumers, the homemade food item must be maintained at an appropriate temperature.

ON MARCH 31, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 484, AS AMEND
ED.

AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill. Under present law,
the production and sale of homemade food items
are generally
exempt from all licensing, permitting, inspecting, packaging, and labeling laws
if certain conditions are satisfied. This amendment add
s as a new condition that tim
e/temperature control for safety food homemade food items must:

(
1
) Not include unpasteurized milk or foods that are, or that contain, alcoholic beverages, fish, shellfish products, meat, meat by-products, or meat food prod
ucts;

(
2
) Be sold only to the extent permissible by federal law
. This amendment specifies federal regulations under which sales of poultry, poultry byproducts, and poultry food products may be exempt;
and

(
3
) Be sold either by
t
he producer to the
consumer, in person
, or a
n agent of the producer, in person, such as a farm stand located on the property where the food was prepared.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 484
By Bowling

HOUSE BILL 130
By Reneau

HB0130
001058
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 53
and Title 68, Chapter 14, Part 7, relative to
homemade food items.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 53-1-102, is amended by deleting
subdivision (19) and substituting:
(19) "Homemade food item":
(A) Means a food item that is:
(i) Produced by or under the direct supervision of the producer at
the producer's private residence; and
(ii) Either, as defined by the department in rules promulgated
pursuant to the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4,
chapter 5:
(a) Non-time/temperature control for safety food; or
(b) Time/temperature control for safety food; and
(B) Does not include alcoholic beverages, unpasteurized milk or foods
that are, or that contain, alcoholic beverages, fish and shellfish products, meat,
meat by-products, poultry, or poultry by-products, except to the extent that the
sale of those items is permissible under federal law, including the following:
(i) Poultry, poultry by-products, or poultry food products, if the
food preparer raised the poultry pursuant to the one thousand (1,000) bird
exemption in 9 C.F.R., § 381.10(c);

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(ii) Poultry, poultry by-products, or poultry food products, if the
poultry is from an inspected source pursuant to 9 C.F.R., § 381.10(d); and
(iii) Meat, meat by-products, or meat food products, if the meat is
from an inspected source pursuant to 9 C.F.R., § 303.1(d).
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 53-1-118, is amended by deleting
subsections (a) and (b) and substituting:
(a)
(1) Notwithstanding part 2 of this chapter, or another law to the contrary,
except as provided in this section, the production and sale of homemade food
items under this chapter are exempt from all licensing, permitting, inspecting,
packaging, and labeling laws of this state, except when the department of health
is investigating a reported foodborne illness.
(2) Except as provided in this section, a producer may sell homemade
food items in this state to the extent permitted by federal law.
(b) The exemption under subsection (a) only applies if the following conditions
are satisfied:
(1)
(A) Homemade food items that do not contain dairy, meat, or
poultry must be sold either by:
(i) The producer to the consumer, whether in person or
remotely, including, but not limited to, a sale by telephone or
internet; or
(ii) An agent of the producer or a third-party vendor, such
as a retail shop or grocery store, to the consumer; and

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(B) Homemade food items that contain dairy, meat, or poultry
must be sold by the producer to the consumer, whether in person or
remotely, including, but not limited to, a sale by telephone or internet;
(2)
(A) Homemade food items that do not contain dairy, meat, or
poultry must be delivered either by:
(i) The producer to the consumer; or
(ii) An agent of the producer, a third-party vendor, or a
third-party carrier to the consumer; and
(B) Homemade food items that contain dairy, meat, or poultry
must be delivered by the producer to the consumer;
(3) The following information must be provided to the consumer, in the
format required by subdivision (b)(4):
(A) The name, home address, and telephone number of the
producer of the homemade food item;
(B) The common or usual name of the homemade food item;
(C) The ingredients of the homemade food item in descending
order of predominance;
(D) The date that the homemade food item was produced;
provided, that this subdivision (b)(3)(D) only applies to homemade food
items that are potentially hazardous or time/temperature control for safety
foods; and
(E) The following statement: "This product was produced at a
private residence that is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This
product may contain allergens.";

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(4)
(A) The information required by subdivision (b)(3) must be
provided:
(i) On a label affixed to the package, if the homemade
food item is packaged;
(ii) On a label affixed to the container, if the homemade
food item is offered for sale from a bulk container;
(iii) On a placard displayed at the point of sale, if the
homemade food item is neither packaged nor offered for sale from
a bulk container; or
(iv) On the webpage on which the homemade food item is
offered for sale, if the homemade food item is offered only for sale
on the internet; and
(B) If the homemade food item is sold by telephone or custom
order, the seller need not display the information required by subdivision
(b)(3), but the seller shall disclose to the consumer that the homemade
food item is produced at a private residence that is exempt from state
licensing and inspection, and may contain allergens. The seller shall
have the information required by subdivisions (b)(3)(A)-(D) readily
available and provide it to the consumer upon request; and
(5) If a homemade food item is potentially hazardous or time/temperature
control for safety food and is transported before final delivery to consumers, the
homemade food item must be maintained at an appropriate temperature.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.