Food category
Dried Goods & Mixes
Dried fruit, dried herbs, dry baking mixes, granola, and cereals.
Informational only, not legal advice.
Status by state
- Arizona /AZ Allowed
- California /CA Allowed
- Florida /FL Allowed with limits
- Georgia /GA Allowed
- Illinois /IL Allowed with limits
- Indiana /IN Allowed with limits
- Maryland /MD Allowed with limits
- Massachusetts /MA Allowed
- Michigan /MI Allowed with limits
- Missouri /MO Allowed with limits
- New Jersey /NJ Allowed with limits
- New York /NY Allowed with limits
- North Carolina /NC Allowed
- Ohio /OH Allowed
- Pennsylvania /PA Allowed
- Tennessee /TN Allowed
- Texas /TX Allowed
- Virginia /VA Allowed
- Washington /WA Allowed with limits
- Wisconsin /WI Prohibited
Status comes from each state's allowed and prohibited lists, or from the state's own guidance where the lists don't settle it. "Allowed with limits" means the state allows some products in this category but not others. "Unclear" means the cited sources don't say either way.
Of the 20 states covered, 10 allow dried goods & mixes, 9 allow it with limits, 1 prohibit it, and in 0 the official sources don't settle it.
What each state's lists say
Arizona: Yes
Allowed list:
- Candy and confections, e.g., freeze-dried candy, fudge, toffee and brittles, caramel apples, marshmallows, cotton candy, truffles, and chocolate-dipped treats
- Dry goods: dry spice blends and rubs, dry baking mixes, dry dip mixes, granola, dried pasta, extracts, and dehydrated or freeze-dried fruits and vegetables
California: Yes
Allowed list:
- Dried, dehydrated, and freeze-dried foods (e.g., baking mixes, pasta, cereals, granola, trail mixes, popcorn, roasted or freeze-dried coffee, tea, herbs and herb blends)
Florida: Yes, with limits
Allowed list:
- Fruit pies and dried fruits
- Cereals, trail mixes and granola
Prohibited list:
- Fresh or dried meat or meat products, including jerky
Georgia: Yes
Allowed list:
- Dried fruits
- Cereals, trail mixes, and granola
- Dry pasta
Illinois: Yes, with limits
410 ILCS 625/4(b)(1.5) allows most dried foods but excludes dehydrated tomato or melon.
Source: 410 ILCS 625/4 (Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act, Sec. 4), subsec. (b)(1.5) · Verified Oct 21, 2026
Source: 2024 Cottage Food Guide (IDPH with University of Illinois Extension), p. 11 · Verified Oct 21, 2026
Indiana: Yes, with limits
Allowed list:
- Dehydrated and dried fruits (all varieties except melons); freeze-dried fruits and confectionery items no larger than a small marble
- Dried herbs, spices, and teas (air or oven dried without additional additives)
- Granola and trail mix
- Dried pasta and egg noodles
Prohibited list:
- Freeze-dried, dehydrated, or dried vegetables and dairy (subject to additional regulatory requirements)
Maryland: Yes, with limits
Allowed list:
- Non-perishable candies (e.g., brittles, gummy bears, hard candies, lollipops, toffee, and marshmallows with non-potentially hazardous ingredients); freeze-dried non-potentially hazardous commercial candies
- Chocolate confections made from commercially manufactured chocolate or commercial non-potentially hazardous ingredients (e.g., chocolate-covered nuts, pretzels, marshmallows, dried fruits, and caramels; peanut butter cups), with all fillings from a commercial source
- Granola bars
- Seasoning blends, spice blends, and tea blends repackaged from commercial ingredients
- Cereal mixes, granola mixes, and trail mixes from commercial sources
Prohibited list:
- Freeze-dried products of any kind except non-potentially hazardous commercial candy; home dehydrating or freeze-drying of fruits, vegetables, vegetable chips, herbs, spices, or pasta
- Meat and poultry products (including jerky and dried or dehydrated meat), fish and shellfish, milk and dairy products, and ice products
Massachusetts: Yes
Massachusetts allows any cottage food not on its prohibited list, and no dried goods & mixes item is on it. Source: 105 CMR 590.000 (Massachusetts Retail Food Code), as published by MDPH, § 590.001(C) ("Cottage Food Products") · Verified Oct 21, 2026
Michigan: Yes, with limits
Allowed list:
- Confections and candies made without alcohol (e.g., hard candies, cotton candy, maple candy, freeze-dried candy, chocolate-covered pretzels or fruit)
- Granola, dry herbs and herb mixtures, dry baking mixes, dry dip mixes, dry soup mixes, and dry bread mixes
- Dehydrated or freeze-dried fruits and vegetables (except melon, tomato, or leafy greens)
- Dried pasta, with or without eggs
- Dry tea mixes, powdered drink mixes, and dried herbal teas sold as conventional food with no health claims
- Oils flavored with dried herbs or spices only (no garlic)
- Vegetable or herb chips (e.g., kale chips) and raw or dried mushrooms (wild-foraged mushrooms need expert identification)
Prohibited list:
- Meat and fish products, including jerky, smoked fish, and dried or dehydrated meats
- Freeze-dried or dehydrated melon, tomatoes, leafy greens, sourdough starter, dairy, or foods that need refrigeration before freeze-drying
Missouri: Yes, with limits
Allowed list:
- Dried herbs and dried herb mixes
Prohibited list:
- Freeze dried foods
New Jersey: Yes, with limits
Allowed list:
- Candy (e.g., brittle, toffee, bark, caramels, marshmallows, chocolates, candy bars, cereal treats, packaged cotton candy)
- Chocolate-covered nuts and dried fruit
- Dried fruit (e.g., raisins, apricots, prunes, dates, dried cranberries)
- Dried herbs and seasonings, and mixtures thereof (e.g., seasoning mixes, barbecue rub), purchased from a licensed facility or wholesale distributor
- Dried pasta (wheat, no egg)
- Dry baking mixes (e.g., pancake, cookie, cake, and brownie mixes)
- Granola, cereal, and trail mix
- Roasted coffee and dried tea (tea purchased from a licensed facility or wholesale distributor)
Prohibited list:
- Foods containing prohibited ingredients: cream, sour cream, custard, vegan custard, puddings, cheese, cream cheese, meat, fish, vegetables (fresh, cooked, fried, or dried), fresh flowers, fresh herbs, peppers, fresh fruit, pumpkin, sweet potato, yams, carrots, heat-treated plant food (cooked rice, beans, vegetables), mushrooms, tofu, soy protein foods, alcohol, CBD, THC, and home-grown or foraged plants, herbs, vegetables, or fruits
- Freeze-dried or machine-dehydrated fruits and vegetables; dried bananas, plantains, and strawberries; banana or plantain chips; dried mushrooms and dried beans
- Dried egg noodles, pasta with egg, raw pizza dough, and raw cookie dough
New York: Yes, with limits
Allowed list:
- Breads, rolls, biscuits, bagels, muffins, and scones (high-acid or commercially dried fruit and herbs OK; no vegetables)
- Repacking or blending commercially dried spices or herbs; seasoning salt
- Repackaging dried vegetables, dried soup mixes, and dried fruit
- Peanut brittle, granola, trail mix, and granola bars (commercially roasted nuts)
Prohibited list:
- Freeze-dried foods, compotes, spreads, quiche, fudge or caramel sauces
North Carolina: Yes
Allowed list:
- Freeze-dried candy
- Dried mixes and spices
Ohio: Yes
Allowed list:
- Granola, granola bars, and candy-dipped granola bars (any fruit must be commercially dried)
- Dry cereal and nut snack mixes with seasonings
- Dry baking mixes in a jar
- Dry herbs and herb blends
- Dry soup mixes with commercially dried vegetables, beans, grains, and seasonings
Pennsylvania: Yes
Allowed list:
- Dry goods (e.g., cereals, coffee/tea, spices and seasonings, dry herbs, dry pasta, nuts, seeds, and mixes)
- Dehydrated foods (e.g., dried fruits and vegetables, dried herbs, beef or meat jerky)
- Freeze-dried foods, with water activity testing
Tennessee: Yes
Tennessee allows any cottage food not on its prohibited list, and no dried goods & mixes item is on it. Source: 2025 Tenn. Pub. Acts ch. 431 (SB 484 / HB 130), amending T.C.A. § 53-1-118, § 4 (T.C.A. § 53-1-118(b)(3)) · Verified Oct 5, 2026
Texas: Yes
Texas allows any cottage food not on its prohibited list, and no dried goods & mixes item is on it. Source: Texas DSHS — Texas Cottage Food Production · Verified Sep 15, 2026
Virginia: Yes
Allowed list:
- Dried fruits
- Dry baking mixes
- Dried pasta
- Dried tea
- Cereals, trail mixes, and granola
Washington: Yes, with limits
Allowed list:
- Cereals, trail mixes, and granola; nuts and nut mixes; snack mixes
- Dry herbs, seasonings, and mixtures from approved sources, recombined and packaged (e.g., dry teas, bread mixes, soup mixes, dip mixes, spice blends)
- Low-risk freeze-dried foods (e.g., candy) made from allowed products
Prohibited list:
- Fresh or dried meat or meat products, including jerky
- Fresh or dried poultry or poultry products
- Freeze-dried high-risk foods (e.g., fruit, ice cream), and foods dried in a low-temperature dehydrator
Wisconsin: No
Prohibited list:
- Items dried in a dehydrator (not considered baked goods)
- Unbaked, not potentially hazardous homemade foods such as fudges, candies, energy bars, roasted coffee beans, and dried soup mixes (DATCP may enforce licensing)