David Crabill
@david
active 2 days, 3 hours agoForum Replies Created
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You need whatever the farmers market requires. I don’t know how to get a sales tax identification number, but I’d suggest you call the department of revenue.
Here’s some info about insurance: http://forrager.com/faq/#insurance
Hi Evelyn, I have no official credentials whatsoever. I have done all of the research for this website by reading every single law and resource I could find, and then summarizing that info on this site. I have also now answered hundreds of questions about the cottage food industry. Many times I’ll not know an answer and say so, and sometimes I have thought I knew an answer and was later proven wrong. This site is not intended to be the be-all-end-all of research, especially for someone starting a CFO. It is really intended to be an easy starting point for someone, especially since the laws are so hard to navigate.
I would really like for the site to be a community where people help each other (not just me!), and it is already used in that way to a degree. Maryland is one of the states that has a particularly small amount of info available online, so I always look forward to feedback from someone who has talked to their health dept and can clarify the info on here.
I’m not a macaron specialist, but if egg white is absolutely essential, then one possibility would be to use pasteurized eggs. However, my guess is that people selling macarons either have them approved with egg white, or do not use it in their fillings. You can check with your health dept to see what they would approve.
It’s not allowed: http://forrager.com/faq/#jerky
You probably need a business license (you don’t need to be incorporated)… not sure if you need a tax number. Here’s some info on insurance: http://forrager.com/faq/#insurance
It all depends on where you live. I’d recommend that as a first step, you call your county’s planning division.
Angela, as Jenny noted, I think you really need to know your market before committing to a corporation structure. She has very good and specific reasons for choosing it. The $800 franchise tax has been a big wake up call for some CFOs that over anticipated their success, later realizing that they didn’t really need an LLC. My personal recommendation is that except for some specific cases, it’s not necessary. The insurance does cover you for most things, and a lot of people are not aware that an LLC doesn’t completely protect their personal assets anyway, even though it does help. A big company needs to be much more concerned with getting sued.
In terms of nutrition facts resources, I don’t know of any, but I do know that most CFOs prefer to not include it. It makes everything a lot simpler, and most customers don’t need it anyway. I will say that there is a difference between a legitimate nutrition analysis and a lot of the nutrition facts calculators online. It’s not really an authentic panel if the product is not lab tested, and that does cost a significant amount of money unless it’s subsidized by the govt.
I don’t believe a product like that is allowed in Michigan.
I don’t think it matters (the law doesn’t specify it), but FM managers can require whatever they want to. So if they will kick you out if you don’t use stick on labels, then I would use them!
Assuming that your pie has some eggs in it, it wouldn’t be allowed, but it will be interesting to see what the health dept says.
A lot of farmers markets don’t allow CFOs, but some do.
You would no longer be able to make your products from home, and you’d need to get a commercial license: http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial
