Kim Krukowski

No — the food must not require refrigeration. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

Yes, this should be allowed for a home food processing operation, which I was not well-informed about back in February.

I don’t think any drink would be allowed under the cottage food law, and I’m not really familiar enough with starters to comment on them. My guess is that those wouldn’t be allowed either, but you should talk with the ag dept to…[Read more]

Usually there is some kind of exemption for charitable or nonprofit sales, but I’m not sure about sales to benefit an individual. If you are in business for yourself, that is more or less sales to benefit an individual (you), right? I don’t really know… I’d suggest you call the ag dept for more info.

I’m not sure either. I’d recommend you call the ABC dept.

No — you need to use a commercial kitchen. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

Your mother would need to become a home food processing operation: http://forrager.com/law/virginia-home-food-processing-operation/

You should contact one of the contacts on that page for more specific details.

You probably do need to get a business license, but you need to call your county to confirm. There are a few things you may need to check before starting your business: http://forrager.com/faq/#starting

Have you spoken with the ag or health dept about your business plans? They might be able to point you in the direction of kitchens you could use.

Sorry, I don’t know either. I would think that it would be allowed, but I can’t verify that. You will need to call your health dept for the answer.

I don’t think that’s allowed, but you could call the health dept to see if the exemption for donated baked goods extends to online sales.

You need to pay annual taxes on all income you make, even if your business is operating at a loss. There is no limit — technically, your first order should have been reported. If you want to bypass income tax requirements, you would need to give away your products (not collect money). Once you start making a certain amount of money, you need to…[Read more]