David Crabill
@david
active 10 hours, 53 minutes agoForum Replies Created
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It is legal to sell online in some states, but it’s almost always illegal to sell interstate. The cottage food laws are all state-implemented (not in federal food code), and Pennsylvania is the only state I’m aware of that allows interstate sales. Even then, other states could prohibit sales from PA CFOs. Production from a home kitchen isn’t generally a viable option if interstate sales are part of your business plan.
Even in the states that allow in-state online sales, the product usually cannot be shipped.
Roger, it’s likely that you actually haven’t been offering the hot chocolate under any kind of legal structure in the past, so there probably isn’t a legal way you can continue what you’ve been doing. Two ideas:
1. Provide the hot chocolate dry with hot water available for people to mix their own. This may still not be allowed, but it would be more likely to be approved by the health dept.
2. Inquire with the ag or health dept about whether there is a special permit for hot drinks. Sometimes items like coffee, tea, and maybe hot chocolate don’t require the extensive licensing that other food items do. It helps that you’re offering commercially-produced hot chocolate mix. However, the scale of what you’re doing would still likely result in it being quite a hassle.By the way, that’s amazing that you spend thousands of dollars on hot chocolate every year — that’s quite the donation!
I don’t think you have to have liability insurance, though some venues (eg farmers markets) may require it.
I think you could use that code, but a more accurate one may be 44529, because likely you will be selling your products outside your home.
That would all be illegal as far as I know. I’m not sure how strict central Kentucky is about following the laws though.
Doris, it depends on your state, but most likely you cannot sell homemade cheesecakes. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial
Miasha, I’ve listed the basic info, along with external resources here: http://forrager.com/law/virginia/
I am not familiar with any significant websites for Virginia.Most people make labels themselves and print them at home. Some also use online print shops to produce their labels.
I don’t think you can sell home-brewed kombucha. You’ll likely need to use a commercial kitchen: http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial
The dept that manages zoning in your area will likely determine whether a farm stand is allowed where you live. You should also check with the ag dept to see if they have a requirement for what a farm stand needs to be (for instance, it might need to primarily sell produce). Sometimes the requirements for this are county-dependent.
You will not be able to use the cottage food law. Instead, you need to get a commercial license: http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial
No, but you can probably sell dried pasta under the law. For fresh pasta, you need to get a commercial license: http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial
