Cottage Oven

For a definitive answer, go to FreshFromFlorida.com, search for “cottage foods” and download the PDF file they have there. In it, you will find a Tallahassee phone number you can call to get an official answer to your question.

Apart from that, if it is a powdered non-dairy creamer, the resulting glaze should probably be okay for cottage food.…[Read more]

As Davide mentioned: Definitely nothing with garlic in oil unless properly acidified, due to the risk of botulism.

THIS and https://extension.psu.edu/how-to-safely-make-infused-oils have instructions for the acidification, but you should check your own state’s requirements, just in case.

Not sure about Indiana but, in general (using Florida as an example), you may need to get what some places call and “occupational license” or other places call a “business tax receipt” for conducting business in a certain city and/or county. If you sell in multiple locations that are not all in the same city or county, you may need business tax…[Read more]

From the “Cottage Food Guidance” PDF file available from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services website:

Can I make and sell foods with meat fillings such as empanadas?
No. Meat products or foods with meat fillings are not allowed.

Thus, she may NOT sell them from her home. The sale of meat-filled empanadas requires a…[Read more]

Sorry, Carol, there never was a reply to this and I have not found any pre-printed labels that were inexpensive enough for me to switch from using my laser printer.

Maybe we’ll be lucky and these two new messages in the thread will catch the eye of someone who can point us to a good source.

You should probably check with a lawyer or someone in Tallahassee, just in case, but, as far as I know, when you register the name of your LLC on Sunbiz, it’s already done, but a DBA is a separate thing if you are using a name other than your own without having an LLC (or Inc).

I don’t know if there’s any rule against using your LLC’s name…[Read more]

Each state sets its limitations and usually posts that information somewhere. For example, in Florida, it is handled by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Their website is http://freshfromflorida.com and if you type “cottage food” into their search bar, you’ll get a link to the basic information…[Read more]

I tried asking this (as a sample chart of accounts) a couple of years ago, but never got any real responses. Since then, I have started using Wave Accounting and it has been VERY easy to use.

Here are my expense categories from Wave. Much of this is from the default categories initially provided by Wave, but some are categories I have added to…[Read more]

Bags would certainly be less expensive than bottles.

The thing to compare would be bulk prices on small zipper-closure bags versus some kind of bag where you would use a heat (“impulse”) sealer. For my baked goods, I use plastic food bags and a heat sealer ($30 – $50 on Amazon). Of course, you could use something like a Foodsaver or…[Read more]

Don’t know about California – I’m in Florida, but the following may be helpful as some general guidelines to help you find the answers that would be specific to California.

Here, in Florida, most items sold under cottage-food law would NOT be taxable, but CANDY is ALWAYS taxable. Thus, bread, cookies, cakes, muffins, etc. would not be taxed but…[Read more]

Sandy, in which state are you starting your cottage-food business. Some require inspections and some don’t. It’s also possible that some municipalities may require inspections, even if the state does not.

Since I’m in Florida, I don’t know about Oregon, in particular, but the main thing would be that all of the cooking would have to be done in your home kitchen. That means that, unless there is something specific against frying, you may fry the doughnuts AT HOME, then package them and sell them at, for example, a farmers market. You would NOT be…[Read more]