Idaho has allowed for the sale of low-risk homemade foods for years, but is just now codifying their practices into state rules. The new proposed rules were passed in January 2016, and they should become effective by April 2016. However, it is currently possible to directly sell cottage foods, and the below information describes current practices.

Because Idaho had no law to legalize these home food businesses, a couple cottage food bills were introduced in 2015. The first bill (H106) simply tried to codify the current practice of the health districts, allowing direct sales of low-risk foods. The presence of H106 got the attention of the Northwest Food Processors Association, and they helped create a second bill (H187), which replaced the old one and added a number of restrictions, like registration and a sales limit. Both bills ultimately failed due to conflicting interests, which was a good thing: if H187 had passed, it likely would have made it harder to start a cottage food business in Idaho.

In the summer of 2015, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare held discussions around the state to discuss the status of cottage foods, which ultimately influenced the proposed rules, which imposed minimal regulations. As Patrick Guzzle, the Food Protection Program Manager at IDHW summarized, “We pretty consistently heard from cottage food producers that there needed to be some better definitions, but not regulations around it”.