David Crabill

Hi Candice, NY’s laws have expanded and changed a lot recently, even since the pandemic. The cottage food industry has seen tremendous growth in NY in the past year, much more than any other state. I still need to update Forrager with the changes. It sounds like everything was listed clearly on your application and you were approved, so you should…[Read more]

Israfil, I’m not sure what you’re asking

@marebake That is unbelievable. I’ve heard of uninformed inspectors but that is extreme! Sorry to hear it.

Yes that is correct. No custard or cream filled pies.

Mary, the Missouri page on here is a good starting point, since it summarizes what’s in the law: https://forrager.com/law/missouri/
The best place to find official info is from the health dept. The health dept must follow the law, as long as the law is clear. But they are able to interpret it if it is ambiguous. In the case of canned goods, their…[Read more]

I’ve shipped my fudge and I do use USPS flat rate boxes. I don’t do this as part of my business, since CA doesn’t allow shipping, so my experience is limited and I haven’t tried to optimize the process much. However, I think it’s probably the ideal solution for me since my fudge is heavy and is also a fairly high-value item. Your brittle is so…[Read more]

The ag dept doesn’t require a permit or license, but your local area might require some kind of license. See here for more info:
https://forrager.com/faq/#starting
https://forrager.com/faq/#sales-tax

It would not be allowed. You would need to use a commercial kitchen to prepare a meal.

I’ve heard that St. Louis restricts cottage food businesses to only selling out of the home. I don’t believe any other town or city in MO restricts cottage food businesses in that way. So it’s a major issue, for sure. You should try talking to the health dept to confirm this. As far as the city business license is concerned, I’m sure that they…[Read more]

I’m not aware of any restrictions on either, though it would be possible for a county to add restrictions on pickup due to zoning laws.

Thanks for letting us know!

As far as I know, the rules for Hawaii haven’t changed recently. The reason many states don’t allow canned foods is due to botulism concerns, which could potentially be deadly. Canned foods, when properly prepared, are perfectly safe, but their concern is that a home cook might not properly prepare them. I’m not saying that I agree with the…[Read more]