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Packaging & Labeling

Pre-Packaging At Home vs. Packaging At Farmers Market

This topic contains 2 replies, has 1 voice, and was last updated by  Charles Jackel 7 years, 2 months ago.

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  • August 27, 2017 at 10:54 am #39255

    Charles Jackel
    Participant

    Hello,
    I am a registered cottage food operator with my county health department in Illinois.
    The Illinois Cottage Food Law is ambiguous about WHEN cottage food must be packaged and labeled.
    I would like to SELL my bagels at the farmers markets similar to a bakery, so customers can select their own
    variety of bagels. Currently, I pre-bag the bagels and place a label on the bag at home, then sell the bagels at the market. Can someone clarify if one is allowed to package the baked bread items at the farmers market or must the pre-packaging be done at home prior bringing to the market. In your reply, please REFERENCE the section of the LAW that supports your reply. As I interpret the current law, the only requirement is that items are PACKAGED and LABELED prior to the CUSTOMER taking possession of the item for sale. There is nothing in the LAW that states the items MUST BE PRE-PACKAGED AT HOME.
    Thanks,
    Charles

    • This topic was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by  Charles Jackel. Reason: additional information
    August 28, 2017 at 8:15 pm #39310

    Jill

    Correct me if I am wrong, but to package at the market, a person needs to have a hand washing station present (one can be share with others). You must also keep/store/display items in such a way as to keep them free of unwanted items (bugs, etc). At one point, there was a certification to be able to provide “samples”, but that may have gone away.

    August 28, 2017 at 8:22 pm #39312

    Charles Jackel
    Participant

    I don’t see anything in the Illinois Cottage Food Law relating hand washing and packaging.
    The hand washing is for food sampling which is a separate issue from packaging. The sampling rules mention
    “pre-packaged” food items that will be used for sampling, but again, that is a separate issue from what I am asking about.

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