Cottage Oven

If something contains meat or requires refrigeration (or you plan to cook on-site), a food license is required and everything must be prepared in a commercial kitchen. Homemade is not a legal option for such products.

If your home kitchen meets all of the requirements of a commercial kitchen (three-compartment sink, fire-prevention hood system,…[Read more]

1. You ARE allowed to sell from your residence. Whether a stand in your yard would be okay or not is something you should check with your county or municipality zoning and/or your HOA.
2. Since those other items are not things that you produced under the cottage-food law, you may need to check with your county or municipality because the sale of…[Read more]

Only fruit-filled empanadas are allowed. Products with meat fillings must be refrigerated and are not allowed.

Since cheesecake must be refrigerated, it is not allowed under cottage-food laws.

A while back, I called the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and spoke with Melissa Durkin (who has since moved to another position).

At the time, she said that, officially, there is nothing in Florida’s cottage-food law specifically prohibiting shipping out of state – only that the current law (contrary to the past) now…[Read more]

Since this is in the Florida forum, rather than California, I’ll throw in my two-cents’ worth.

In Florida, you can register an LLC quickly and easily online at Sunbiz and it only costs $125.00 each year (with a couple of options that could add up to $35.00 more). Far less than the California numbers mentioned in the Forrager FAQ.

One of the…[Read more]

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]