David Crabill
@david
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As long as your caramel sauce is considered non-potentially hazardous confectionary good, then you should be able to sell as a cottage food operation using the laws described on this site. Caramel sauces may be a little more borderline, and your health department may require that it be lab-tested before approving your registration.
John, I know it’s hard to find this info, but it’s not that crazy! (you’re not the first person to ask about this on here)
Generally speaking, unless you fall under a special exemption (which it sounds like you wouldn’t given the circumstances you’re describing), then you need a license to even give away your goodies. It doesn’t really matter if you’re profiting from it or not: the laws are built in large part to ensure the safety of food. I can’t find a Florida-specific article about this, but I believe that’s generally the case in all states.
If you are willing to restrict the type of food that you want to give away, you could fairly easily setup a cottage food operation, as long as you don’t live in Miami-Dade county.
If you run a cottage food operation, then you can legally only make food from your home kitchen. To make your product in a commercial kitchen, you need to be operating under a different license (which would also allow you to ship out-of-state).
The reason you can’t find anything about out-of-state sales is because those are not allowed under the cottage food law. Most counties also don’t allow shipping at all, but I think that Orange County may be one of the few exceptions. If Orange County has said that it’s okay to ship, then you can legally make your product at home and then ship in-state only.
Jammy, you can sell your biscotti, since that’s considered a cookie. I believe you can use wild yeast to make them.
I am not sure what you are asking about with the fresh fruit. Can you clarify?
Jackie, it’s likely that you wouldn’t be able to sell dog biscuits made from home. There is no state, as far as I’m aware, that specifically allows pet food, but a number of states clarify that they don’t allow it. I’m not surprised you’re having trouble finding an answer — it’s quite possible that even your health department won’t know. Unfortunately, I can’t give you a definitive answer either, but I won’t be surprised if you’re not allowed to do it.
Erik, all your food prep needs to happen in your home kitchen. You can give out samples, but they need to be prepackaged at home. To make the samples on-site, you would need a different kind of license.
On a different note, I’m surprised that you even got pancakes approved. They are not baked and have a higher moisture content than most non-potentially hazardous foods. They probably should get refrigerated, and that takes them out of the cottage food category. Of course, it depends on your recipe and how you make them.
Syrups are not part of the cottage food law in Illinois. I’m not sure what the rules about production are, but you might start by asking the health department.
Custards are not allowed. There should be a number of farmers markets that allow cottage food operations. They may require a business license, but not a food processor license from the health department.
Are they aware of the “Home Food Processing” program? Some departments are just not aware, and some are opposed to it. If I were you, I’d call up Sheri Morris (the program manager) at 717-787-5289, or email her at shmorris@state.pa.us and see what she has to say. It is possible that your local government could prevent you from operating, but you should talk to the person at the state level first. If they didn’t allow you to do it, there would be no other option for you to make food from home, aside from building a commercial kitchen there, which is prohibitively expensive.
Crystal, I can tell you that a cottage food permit is for those only preparing food in their home kitchen. Since you are not doing this, then the law won’t apply to you. As for what’s the best way for you to sell your pre-made goods, I really have no idea. I am totally unfamiliar with the process for using your home as a sales venue outside of the cottage laws. I’m sorry that I really don’t even know where to direct you, other than being able to direct you away from the cottage food laws.
