Dr David A French, thermal process authority

The list of allowed foods that matters is here, under questions 2 & 3: http://www.agri.ohio.gov/foodsafety/docs/CottageFoodOperation-factsheet.pdf

Ohio’s law used to be more limited and then they passed an amendment that expanded the list of allowed foods. It appears that only foods that are on the list are allowed. I don’t think there’s a reason…[Read more]

I don’t know if you have to approve you’re on the lease, but you do need landlord approval. Generally, you may only run a cottage food business from your “primary residence”. Usually that’s where you primarily live, but not always (a college dorm is still a secondary residence, even if the student lives there most of the year). If you have a…[Read more]

As long as you are living in the apartment and the landlord gives their approval, using the apartment’s kitchen shouldn’t be a problem.

Under Ohio’s cottage food law, you can’t sell online or use a commercial kitchen. You need to get a commercial license: http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

There is probably somewhere in the food code that says something about commercial licensing and commercial kitchens, and it may even list some requirements about how producers handle food, but you really won’t be able to get the full scoop without talking to them directly.

I don’t think it will matter that the extra building is almost a house.…[Read more]

Yes — you should contact your planning division and see if there are any local requirements, like a general business license.

I don’t think you can use the cottage food law, since the kitchen is not in your primary residence. You should call the health dept and ask if they would allow it.

You definitely need to call your health dept before spending a ton of money on this. I don’t think you can use the cottage food law, since it’s not the kitchen in your primary residence. You can probably do this with a commercial license if you make that building into a commercial kitchen, but you need to be aware of all the requirements that go…[Read more]

Soup like that would not be allowed from a home kitchen. Only dry soup mixes would work. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

You can make all of the things you described, as long as they don’t require refrigeration. You need to be incorporating fruits like blueberries or bananas into the batter (garnishing with fruits isn’t allowed).

Collette, I’m not exactly sure what your question is. Are you wondering if your home kitchen can be a commercial kitchen, or if you can legally operate under the cottage food law with your home kitchen?

I can tell you that you can’t become commercially licensed from your home kitchen, and you will have to accept the restrictions of the cottage…[Read more]

The law says “A cottage food production operation shall not process acidified foods, low acid canned foods, or potentially hazardous foods.” Beyond that, the state doesn’t really have much published online about this.

The technical rules that Ohio probably follows are described in Part 150 of Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

However,…[Read more]