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David Crabill replied to the topic Illinois Commercial kitchen for cottage bakers in the forum Illinois 4 months, 1 week ago
Melanie is correct. It is specified in the law under the CFO definition:
“Cottage food operation” means an operation conducted by a person who produces or packages food or drink… in a kitchen located in that person’s primary domestic residence or another appropriately designed and equipped kitchen on a farm for direct sale by the owner, a family…
David Crabill replied to the topic Baby Food in the forum Minnesota 7 months, 3 weeks ago
That would not be allowed, and would require a commercial kitchen.
David Crabill replied to the topic Allowable Product & Process Questions in the forum California 8 months, 2 weeks ago
Hi Paige, sorry for the late reply!
1. They should be allowed. I don’t think it matters whether vegetables come from land or sea.
2. Depends on the county, but if it was rejected, I would escalate it up to CDPH, and they should be able to tell your county that your products are approved.
3. I believe veggie chips that are baked or fried are allowed.David Crabill replied to the topic Products submission in the forum Washington 11 months, 2 weeks ago
I would recommend talking with the health dept about what they’d be okay with. Some officials are more strict than others.
Also, I’ll add that despite the ridiculous requirement (IMHO) of having a startup submit every possible label variation before they’ve even started their business, in my experience most people do tweak their recipes…[Read more]
David Crabill replied to the topic Does anyone have an NTEP Certified Kitchen Scale? in the forum Kitchen & Equipment 1 year ago
I wonder if you could get a used one. Also I just checked WebstaurantStore and they have one for $100: https://www.webstaurantstore.com/14309/legal-for-trade-scales.html?order=price_asc
David Crabill replied to the topic Does anyone have an NTEP Certified Kitchen Scale? in the forum Kitchen & Equipment 1 year ago
Wow that’s surprising that they’re that strict! I have never looked into NTEP scales, so I’d be interested to hear what you learn.
David Crabill replied to the topic Quiche in the forum Louisiana 1 year ago
No, quiches would need to be produced in a commercial kitchen. Eggs can only be used in baked goods that don’t require refrigeration.
David Crabill replied to the topic CFO Business Model in the forum Bread 1 year ago
Actually I think you will find that setting a schedule will increase your business! With bread it’s pretty easy, because people typically want bread on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Most cottage bread bakers choose a pickup/delivery day of the week, and then have the same baking schedule every week. It’s your business, you make the rules……[Read more]
David Crabill replied to the topic Selling other items in the forum Florida 1 year, 1 month ago
Yes, many people do this. Usually the barriers to entry for selling non-food items are lower. You could likely do it under the same general business license that you get for your cottage food business, but you might need a different sellers permit depending on what you’re selling. Also the sales tax requirements are likely different. I’m not…[Read more]
David Crabill replied to the topic Square Tutorial in the forum Forrager 1 year, 1 month ago
Hi Susan, here’s the tutorial: https://forrager.com/learn/website/
David Crabill replied to the topic Interstate commerce in the forum Florida 1 year, 2 months ago
It’s a gray area to be sure. All we know for sure is that FL, AR, and OK allow interstate shipping. So shipping between those states should be allowed.
David Crabill replied to the topic LLC in the forum Florida 1 year, 2 months ago
In general, I think an LLC is overkill for most cottage food businesses. You can read more here: https://forrager.com/faq/#llc
David Crabill replied to the topic Is there a way to sell Prohibited Foods? in the forum California 1 year, 3 months ago
Jonathan, you can sell perishable baked goods at farmers markets by producing them in a commercial kitchen and getting a different license from the health department.
There is no legal way to sell them from home, or to sell homemade perishable baked goods, except for building a commercial kitchen on your property (which is very complex and costly…[Read more]
David Crabill replied to the topic Getting Started in the forum California 1 year, 3 months ago
Nunuz, I think it’s important to know that most of this kind of info can’t be found online. You need to contact your health dept, the planning division, etc and wait for them to get back to you. It usually takes quite a bit of patience.
However, generally speaking, in addition to the CFO permit you will likely need a business license, and yes…[Read more]
David Crabill replied to the topic Miami Dade and Cottage food law in the forum Florida 1 year, 3 months ago
As Keith referenced, Florida updated its cottage food law in 2021, and now localities (like Miami Dade) can’t prohibit cottage food businesses.
David Crabill replied to the topic Hot Sauce in the forum New York 1 year, 4 months ago
When processed correctly, hot sauce is perfectly safe. But if best canning practices are not followed, canned goods could potentially be deadly. That’s why homemade acid and acidified foods like hot sauce are not allowed in many states, although the risk is quite low.
Instead, the ag/health dept will require you to use a commercial kitchen and go…[Read more]David Crabill replied to the topic Gummy Bears. in the forum Arkansas 1 year, 4 months ago
Yes definitely! All non-perishable candies and confections are allowed in Arkansas.
David Crabill replied to the topic Starting new business looking for advice in the forum Business 1 year, 4 months ago
Here is some info about that: https://forrager.com/faq/#repackaging
Basically, yes you can do this with unwrapped candy. You mentioned “variety”… the variety resulting from combining candies should be enough of a change for you to not worry about copyright. And I’d also consider how branded the product is in the first place. If it’s a generic…[Read more]David Crabill replied to the topic Labeling in the forum Tennessee 1 year, 4 months ago
Putting cake mix on the label is definitely not sufficient. You need to copy the ingredients from the box to put on your label.
Tennessee is one of the only states that doesn’t seem to require things to be individually packaged. But I do think they’d prefer individual packaging where that’s reasonable or expected. A bulk container situation would…[Read more]
David Crabill replied to the topic Fresh Herbs and Vegetables in the forum New Jersey 1 year, 4 months ago
You can sell fresh, uncut produce without needing any permit. The only restriction, to my knowledge, are sprouts… those are regulated. You could sell under your LLC but you likely don’t have to.
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