David Crabill
@david
active 1 day, 17 hours agoForum Replies Created
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Baked potatoes, or other cooked vegetables, are considered to be potentially hazardous foods. Cottage food laws are generally only for items that are non-potentially hazardous, or in other words, items that do not need refrigeration or heat to be kept safe.
The reason cottage food laws are limited to non-PHFs is for safety reasons. PHFs have the capacity to grow harmful bacteria and are seen as being more likely to cause foodborne illnesses if the producer doesn’t take the correct precautions. I’m sure that most home producers would take the correct precautions, but it is because these kitchens are generally unregulated by the health department that they only allow sales of these kinds of foods to come from standard food businesses that make all their goods in a commercial kitchen.
My hope is that someday, people will be able to do what they always used to — make all kinds of food from home and sell it. I agree with you that it’s not that dangerous, but right now the food economy is in a state where it believes that regulation and rules are the only way to ensure the safety of our food.
Brandy, I just found something that I had missed in the past: “A license is not required for a domestic kitchen type bakery that is operated in behalf of a nonprofit institution or is otherwise not operated for profit.”
So it looks like you’re good as long as you’re only doing baked items.
There is an allowance for unlicensed sales at religious or charitable events, and I also think it would be okay if you were simply giving your food away as the donation itself, but I don’t think this private nonprofit business would be included in those. This question really brings up a gray area that I don’t think has been covered in the food code, so it would be up to the health dept to decide and you should call them. But my guess is that this would not be allowed without some kind of license, but the fact that it is an optional donation might have an impact. I’d be interested to hear if this isn’t the case.
Ultimately it is up to the county to decide what the rules are, and it does differ between counties, but I’ve never heard of a county saying that. Are you sure they weren’t referring to prepackaged goods that you may be reselling? I guess I could see them making a case that you could list “Nestle’s chocolate chips” and that the consumer could find the needed info eventually, but I would still think they’d want the consumer to have the ingredient info available when they make their purchase.
Most people just talk to their insurance company about getting insurance for their business. Another option is the FLIP Program.
Here is a good video from Felicia Hill who setup the cottage food law in WA: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=3710115150063&set=vb.212823708752853&type=2&theater
I think this would be allowed, but you might still want to confirm by calling the dept at 850-245-5520.
If your packages have different weights, then yes, you need to weigh each one. You can write the weight on the package by hand. I’ve also see sellers print out labels with the same weight on each of them, and then they add enough of the item to reach it (for instance, 3 oz of fudge). For cookies, if you use a portion scoop, the weight of each package should be pretty consistent.
1) Yes
2) Yes
3) No
4) You should contact your local planning division and see if there are any other requirements for your area. Otherwise, you’re good to go!
5) As long as your church is hosting a public event, then you should be able to sell at it. However, are you profiting or just selling there as a charitable donation to the church? If it’s not for your profit, then there is another exemption in the law that allows you to do that without getting any kind of approval from the government.I don’t think there is anything, other than that you should call your planning division to find out if there are any requirements for your specific area.
Jean, you cannot be the owner of both a commercial food business and a cottage food operation. It sounds like even though the items you are selling would fall under the cottage food law, you will need to get a commercial permit to sell those items, which should be much easier for you since you already have a commercial kitchen setup.
