New Mexico Can you legally sell food from home in New Mexico?
Cottage Food Law
For many years, New Mexico had the most complex cottage food law of any state.
However, in 2021 they passed the Homemade Food Act (HB 177), which greatly improved their law.
Now producers can sell most non-perishable foods directly anywhere in the state, and there is no sales limit. Indirect sales (retail stores, restaurants, etc) are not allowed.
Before this new law, Albuquerque prohibited homebased food processors altogether. This law prevents them (or other cities) from restricting these businesses, although they can require them to get a permit to operate.
Selling Where can you sell homemade food products?
Allowed Foods What food products can you sell from home?
The NM Environment Department provides a list of foods that you cannot sell.
Limitations How will your home food business be restricted?
Business What do you need to do to sell food from home?
You must take an approved food safety training course, such as Learn2Serve’s Food Handler Training, which costs $7 and takes a couple hours to complete online.
In most areas, a permit is not required, but some areas may require a permit to operate.
Labeling How do you label cottage food products?
Chocolate Chip Cookies
"This product is home produced and is exempt from state licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens."
Forrager Cookie Company
123 Chewy Way, Cookietown, NM 73531
Phone: (123) 456-7890
Email: cookies@forrager.com
Ingredients: enriched flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), butter (cream, salt), semi-sweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, milkfat, soy lecithin, natural flavors), brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla extract (vanilla bean extract, alcohol, sugar), baking soda, salt (salt, calcium silicate)
You must put this labeling information on:
- Your packaged products
- A bulk container, if you sell your products in bulk
- A placard at the point of sale, if your products are not packaged nor sold in bulk
- Your website, if you sell your products online
If you sell your products by telephone or custom order, a label is not required, but you must tell the customer that the product is homemade and may contain allergens, and that your home kitchen is exempt from state licensing and inspection requirements.
Workplace Are there any home kitchen requirements?
The New Mexico Environment Department specifies these production requirements:
- Maintain a sanitary kitchen
- Practice good personal hygiene
- Protect kitchen from rodents and pests at all times. Only use pest control products in accordance with the label and that are approved for food service areas.
- Keep pets and children out of kitchen while in production
- Store food in a sanitary manner at all times
- Transport food in a sanitary manner, protecting it from pets, children and other hazards. For example, vehicle compartments used to transport animals must not be used to transport food.
Resources Where can you find more information about this law?
- Department
- New Mexico Environmental Health Bureau
District Field Offices
- Organization
- Food Program
- Department
- New Mexico Environmental Health Bureau
- food.program@state.nm.us
- Address
- 121 Tijeras, NE, Ste. 1000
Albuquerque, NM 87102
Johnathan Gerhardt
- January 2010
- 7.6.2.16 NMAC
- July 2021
- HB 177
Giouli 
Rebecca
Tiffanie
Mary Calder
Comments
Erica Smith
Did you know that New Mexico has one of the most burdensome and complicated applications in the country to sell cottage foods? The New Mexico Legislature is considering HB 177, which would fix that and make it easier to sell cottage food. HB 177 would also help prevent cities from banning the sale of homemade goods, like Albuquerque currently does. Please email me if you think this bill may help you! My name is Erica Smith and I am an attorney at the Institute for Justice. esmith@ij.org
Cody Guss
I was wondering if taking online school for culinary arts would be close to the same as the training that is required
Rosi
Hi There,
Based on what I have read, homemade pickles are not allowed to be sold under NM cottage law right?
What if my business/manufacture/ process is not in my home kitchen, but on the same property but in a separate facility? Can I still sell at farmers’ market and roadside stand? Is it still considered home base business or not?
Best regards,
Rosi
julia
Just FYI…I am getting my kitchen certified and there are a couple of new things since 3/1/2016. #1 – if you do not have a hand washing sink, but you do have a double sided sink and a dishwasher, you can simply put a barrier between the 2 sides of the sink and dedicate 1 for produce washing and 1 for hand washing. I got that from the district supervisor from NMED. Also, the training is no longer free. You get the training you need through online classes that you pay for.
David Crabill
Thanks for the update. What kind of training course did you have to take, and how much did it cost?
Cherlyn Schaefer
Hello! I’m in NM and wanting to have my certification done for my kitchen, bit am getting no real help from my area. Can we exchange some emails? I have a few questions. Wishuponafarmnm@gmail.com
Erica Smith
Hello! Did you know that New Mexico has one of the most burdensome and complicated applications in the country to sell cottage foods? The New Mexico Legislature is considering HB 177, which would fix that and make it easier to sell cottage food. HB 177 would also help prevent cities from banning the sale of homemade goods, like Albuquerque currently does. Please email me if you think this bill may help you! My name is Erica Smith and I am an attorney at the Institute for Justice. esmith@ij.org
Erica Smith
Hello! Did you know that New Mexico has one of the most burdensome and complicated applications in the country to sell cottage foods? The New Mexico Legislature is considering HB 177, which would fix that and make it easier to sell cottage food. HB 177 would also help prevent cities from banning the sale of homemade goods, like Albuquerque currently does. Please email me if you think this bill may help you! My name is Erica Smith and I am an attorney at the Institute for Justice. esmith@ij.org
Paula G
FYI, your “similar law” link in the third paragraph is a broken link. Thanks for the great information though. You’ve really put a lot of work into this website!
David Crabill
Thanks for letting me know! It’s fixed now.