Cathy

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.

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.

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]

Hi! New here, but I’ve been also researching Virginia’s cottage food laws. Regarding buttercream – unlike the hard stance Virginia takes on cream cheese, the law doesn’t specifically address buttercream so it is a gray area. The key is whether you need to refrigerate it, which mostly depends on the exact ingredients you use and the proportions.…[Read more]

Thanks so much for the info about that phone number now being invalid! I’ll remove it.

The list of requirements you’d need to go through sounds about right. For a tiny business, it’s not really worth it. The statement that most home food businesses don’t operate under the law also sounds right. And considering that you’re not willing to operate…[Read more]