@CreBobble

Getting a CFO license means that you can ONLY use your home kitchen. You do not need to get your kitchen inspected unless you want to sell indirectly (via a third party, like a store). http://forrager.com/law/california/

Some basic info is listed on point #9: https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/3101e/

For more info, try contacting the ag dept: http://www.maine.gov/dacf/qar/index.shtml

Sharon, I see that you signed up for the email lists, which are actually separate from the user accounts on the site. That way, you can have a user account (with community/forum access, CFO creation, etc.) without being signed up to the newsletter or blog email lists.

To change your email settings, click the link in the bottom of any newsletter…[Read more]

You can buy premade items and use them, as long as those items would be allowed if you made them. For instance, if Colorado doesn’t allow frostings that contain dairy, then you couldn’t use a commercially-produced frosting that contains dairy, even if it doesn’t require refrigeration. At least that is my understanding… perhaps the health dept…[Read more]

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 should be able to do this from home with PA’s cottage food law, but if you want or need to rent a commercial kitchen, then you need to contact the ag dept to determine what’s required. You should also contact the farmers market manager to learn about additional requirements they may have.

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.

It depends, but I think in most cases, it’s a good idea. Or put the prices on your website and link to that from Facebook. It’s not always possible to have fixed prices on certain items, but if you have specific rates, you might as well be transparent about that. For the price-sensitive customer, they’ll appreciate it, and for others, it will (at…[Read more]

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]

No it does not. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

I don’t know exactly why, but it seems to affect all populous states. CA and TX have had to go through major efforts to get their laws to be reasonable. CA would probably be the same as WA, or worse, if it weren’t for the major desires and pressures from its citizens for local food. CA is usually on the front end of trends when it comes to the…[Read more]

Yes, you need a license and you need to use a commercial kitchen. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial