Can I sell homemade hot sauce under Wyoming's food freedom law?
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Yes. The Wyoming Food Freedom Act exempts homemade food sold to an informed end consumer from state licensing, permitting, inspection, packaging and labeling requirements, and it does not exclude acidified or fermented foods [1] [2]. The state requires no pH test or recipe approval. The conditions are about the sale: it must happen in Wyoming, with no interstate commerce, and you must tell every buyer the food is not certified, labeled, licensed, packaged, regulated or inspected [3]. One limit sits in a definition many summaries miss: a producer under the act makes no more than 250,000 products and $250,000 in gross revenue a year [4].
Shelf-stable or not: the question that decides who can sell it
Wyoming sorts homemade food into two kinds, and the sort decides your channels [1] [2] [3].
- Non-potentially hazardous food does not need time or temperature control for safety. The act's examples include jams, pickled vegetables, hard candies and granola [1].
- Potentially hazardous food does need it: foods that require refrigeration, dairy products, quiches, cooked vegetables and beans, and others [1].
Hot sauce is not named on either list. A vinegar sauce that is acidified and bottled for the shelf sits closest to pickled vegetables; a fresh sauce that must stay in the refrigerator is potentially hazardous. No agency makes that call for you, so it rests on how the sauce is actually made. The shelf stability page explains what makes a sauce safe at room temperature, and the refrigeration page covers when one must be kept cold.
| Shelf-stable sauce | Refrigerated sauce | |
|---|---|---|
| You, the producer | Yes | Yes |
| A designated agent you name in writing, such as a consignment model market or food freedom store | Yes | Yes |
| A third-party vendor such as a retail shop or grocery store | Yes | No |
| Restaurants and other commercial food establishments | No | No |
Sources: [2] [3]. A designated agent can market, transport, store and deliver for you but cannot take ownership of the product [2].
Where the sale can happen
Sales may take place at farmers markets, farms, ranches, your home or office, the retail location of a third-party seller of non-potentially hazardous foods, or any location you and the buyer agree on [3]. Every transaction must occur only in Wyoming and must not involve interstate commerce [3]. The act does not mention online ordering or shipping by carrier [2] [3], so a sale that ends with a handoff in Wyoming is the safe reading; ask the Wyoming Department of Agriculture before you mail a bottle anywhere, even within the state.
Telling the buyer, and the label for store shelves
The act exempts homemade food from state labeling rules, with two exceptions that matter to a sauce maker [3]:
- The notice. You must tell the buyer the food is not certified, labeled, licensed, packaged, regulated or inspected, and a third-party seller must give the same notice [2] [3]. A printed card or a line on the label is the easy way to do it every time.
- The store label. A non-potentially hazardous food sold at a retail location or grocery store must carry a clear and prominent label stating "this food was made in a home kitchen, is not regulated or inspected and may contain allergens," and it may not share a shelf or display with food from a licensed establishment [2] [3]. The retail space must also post a sign saying the homemade food has not been inspected [2].
Even where Wyoming does not require it, a label with the sauce name, ingredients and allergens is what buyers and store owners expect; the federal labeling page shows the standard layout.
The 250,000-product ceiling
The act defines a producer as a person who grows, harvests, prepares or processes food on property they own or lease, and who makes no more than 250,000 individual food or drink products a year and no more than $250,000 in gross revenue from them [4]. A small sauce business will not reach that soon, but a maker who grows into store accounts can. Past either number, the act's exemption no longer describes you, and you need a licensed operation; the license that applies was not confirmed for this page.
No inspector, so set the safety bar yourself
Wyoming's act lets you sell to the maximum extent federal law permits [2]. Nobody tests your pH or reviews your recipe. The responsible floor is the one a licensed maker works to: a tested recipe, a finished equilibrium pH at or below 4.6 measured on every batch, and batch records. A process authority review, explained on the process authority page, is worth having before you sell a shelf-stable sauce.
Fermented sauce is not excluded [1]. This book treats a ferment finished with vinegar or other added acid as an acidified food unless a process authority classifies it otherwise in writing; under Wyoming's act that changes nothing about your exemption, but it does decide whether the sauce is shelf stable or needs the cold chain. Federal rules for commercial acidified foods are a separate question, covered on the acidified foods page.
Confirm with the Wyoming Department of Agriculture
The Wyoming Department of Agriculture adopts the rules for retail spaces that sell homemade food alongside inspected products [2]. No department page explaining the act was found when this page was last verified in October 2026, so the statute is your reference; the copies cited here are a published compilation and a statute site, and the official text is at the Wyoming Legislature [3] [4]. Ask the department in writing about shipping and about how it reads the 250,000-product limit. If store accounts are your next step, the wholesale page covers working with buyers.
References
- Wyoming Legislature, HB 84 (2020), Food freedom amendments, engrossed, 2020. https://www.wyoleg.gov/2020/Engross/HB0084.pdf
- Wyoming Legislature, SF 102 (2023), Enrolled Act No. 51, effective July 1, 2023. https://www.wyoleg.gov/2023/Enroll/SF0102.pdf
- Syfert (published statute copy), W.S. 11-49-103, retrieved May 2026 (viewed October 2026). https://syfert.com/wyoming/sections/11-49-103.html
- National Agricultural Law Center, Wyoming cottage food statutes, W.S. 11-49-101 to 11-49-104 (state compilation), current through the 2024 Budget Session, not otherwise dated. https://nationalaglawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/cottagefood/Wyoming.pdf
