Jeanetta

No, processed fresh fruit does not fall under the cottage food law. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

It sounds like it’s time for you to go the commercial route. The cottage food law was mainly setup as an easier avenue for someone to start a food business. I would assume that if you wanted to get bigger, you wouldn’t want to be restricted to the $15,000 sales cap of the cottage food law anyway.

CFOs can only use a residential kitchen, so it…[Read more]

Ganache is often not allowed, so you should contact your health dept to check.

No, you can’t sell via an office or other type of business / store front. You can only sell your products at your home, a farmers market, a roadside stand, or at certain types of events. You can also deliver your products to a customer.

Arizona’s law only allows baked goods and candy, but even if you dried produce in an oven, I don’t think they’d be allowed under the law. You probably need to use a commercial kitchen, but you should check with the health dept.

As far as I know, you can only use your residential home kitchen. The kitchen needs to be in your home, and I think that’s the primary requirement. If your external kitchen is on your property, but separate from your home, then I don’t think you can use the cottage food law. If the kitchen is in your basement, it may be possible.

Although a…[Read more]

You cannot sell homemade Indian food in Rhode Island. You will need to use a commercial kitchen, and you should call the health dept about the licensing you will need. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

You probably do need to get a business license, but you need to call your county to confirm. There are a few things you may need to check before starting your business: http://forrager.com/faq/#starting

Mobile food trucks have different rules… you should call the health dept about how to start your food truck business.

Have you spoken with the ag or health dept about your business plans? They might be able to point you in the direction of kitchens you could use.

You cannot do that using the cottage food law. If you are only selling commercially-prepackaged cookies and drinks, then there may be a special permit for that. Otherwise, you would need to use a commercial kitchen to run this business. You should contact your health dept for more specific info. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

I don’t think so. That would clash with zoning laws, which are meant to prevent people from running businesses in neighborhoods. Selling food at your home only works if people pick it up and consume it off the premises. But just to be clear, I’m not actually knowledgeable about how “you-pick-it” programs work… I am just assuming that they need…[Read more]

Yes, you need to use only your home kitchen.

First of all, since this is happening in a church, the cottage food laws aren’t applicable.

Honestly, I’m not sure what the rules are for a church. I know that many large churches are regularly inspected by the health dept. I don’t think you can serve hot food without some type of permit, and you should talk to the health dept for more info.

Sorry, I don’t know either. I would think that it would be allowed, but I can’t verify that. You will need to call your health dept for the answer.

Usually there are no ag dept licenses for selling your own produce, but when it comes to selling others’ produce, I simply don’t know. You should call your ag dept for more info.

Actually, the law does specify that a local health dept can’t regulate you, so they are not allowed to conduct an inspection without a customer complaint. They also shouldn’t be able to prevent you from advertising on Facebook, though the law does prohibit you from selling online.

There is some strange wording in the law about exempt areas in the…[Read more]

Making a nonperishable item, like a baked good, should be allowed under an exemption, but making hotdogs is probably not allowed. You don’t have to worry about the cottage food law, since this is for a nonprofit, but you should still call your ag dept to determine what is allowed under the exemption for donated food. http://forrager.com/faq/#nonprofit