Grub Market

Jonathan, you can sell perishable baked goods at farmers markets by producing them in a commercial kitchen and getting a different license from the health department.

There is no legal way to sell them from home, or to sell homemade perishable baked goods, except for building a commercial kitchen on your property (which is very complex and costly…[Read more]

Nunuz, I think it’s important to know that most of this kind of info can’t be found online. You need to contact your health dept, the planning division, etc and wait for them to get back to you. It usually takes quite a bit of patience.

However, generally speaking, in addition to the CFO permit you will likely need a business license, and yes…[Read more]

I don’t know what things are like in California, but I can tell you what I know based on my own experience and a little Google.
If you have a cfo class A you can sell to people who stop by your place to buy what you made there, and you can sell baked goods at a community event located in the county where you have the cfo registered, but that is…[Read more]

If you sell the items you are describing, but leave off the custard and cream, you will be in compliance. But I bet the pastry is a little too dry without the custard or cream. To sell prohibited foods to children, the immunocompromised, and the elderly is very bad practice.

Running a bake sale for a charitable cause falls under different rules, but in this case it sounds like the funds would be for your family’s use (not donated to a nonprofit).

So in that case, if we want to get really technical, the answer is yes, in CA you’d need a permit to legally sell baked goods, and zoning laws might prevent you from selling…[Read more]

I see now. Have you contacted the ag dept to verify that they do, in fact, permit home food processing establishments? The law is there in theory, but I still have yet to see one implemented. I know a number of counties don’t allow them at all.

So if they will allow one with zoning approval, then I think it’s just a matter of education for the…[Read more]

As an addendum to the above post. As I understand it, Certification of a Home Food Processing Operation in the State of Virginia requires inspection by the Virginia Dept of Agriculture & Consumers Services (VDACS), which is different than inspection to become a commercial food business by the local health department.

Hi David, Thanks for responding. I have a lot of interest from retail shops interested in purchasing my baked goods. So I have been looking into becoming a certified CFO in the state of VA. Part of the application process requires that I include written zoning approval, which would come from the County of Middlesex. I had a brief conversation…[Read more]

Who is requesting that you get a zoning variance? Is it your city/county to approve a general business license? Or is it your HOA? Considering the nature of the lots in your HOA and your plan to be delivery only, I would be surprised if the HOA board disallowed your business, even if there’s something in the CCRs saying you can’t run a home…[Read more]