Melanie

Your state of Colorado is the only one that has this product-based sales limit.

From my understanding, it’s actually pretty broad, and I think that, at the very least, different flavors of cake would be considered different products. I also think that a chocolate cake and a chocolate cupcake would be considered separate products, but I’m not sure…[Read more]

You’re not going to be able to merge a CFO with a commercial operation. Since your friend has a commercial kitchen, I’d recommend skipping the cottage food law and getting certified as a regular food operation. But it’s sometimes a good idea to deal with the limitations of the cottage food law for the short term until you prove your business concept.

The major differences are that the basic law lets you only sell $20K of product at a few select venues, and it’s much easier to get going with that one. I tried to cover the differences in-depth on the law pages:
http://forrager.com/law/new-hampshire/
http://forrager.com/law/new-hampshire-homestead/

Regarding the filters, I’m not sure what you’re…[Read more]

Alex, it depends on where you live, but many states will not allow ganache, since it contains cream.

NJ doesn’t have any cottage food rules, exemptions, etc. Since the doughnuts will be made in a commercial kitchen, this should be possible, but I’m not sure of the specific rules. You will still need to label them (probably in the commercial kitchen), get a food business license, etc. Since you are not actually preparing the food, and the baker…[Read more]

Deb, yes you can sell your cakes and yes, you need to register with the ag dept, and there are a number of other requirements, which you can read through on this page: http://forrager.com/law/minnesota/

If you want to use cream cheese frosting, then you can’t run your business from home. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

I’m pretty sure you need to use a commercial kitchen to produce your products, and you should contact the health dept about how to get licensed. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial