Jill

It sounds like your pretzels would fall under the “baked good” category in the law (please note that this site only gives a summary of the law; see the resources section for the law itself). You should be able to sell them as a cottage food operation. Sorry if it was confusing, but “Pretzels” is listed as a category in the “Snacks” section:…[Read more]

As long as they’re baked (not fried), you should be able to do this as a cottage food operation: http://forrager.com/law/illinois/

You don’t need a license from the health or ag depts, but your county still might require other licenses/permits, like a business license. And even if they don’t, the farmers market itself may require certain permits. Farmers markets also have the ability to turn you away because you’re homebased, even though you’re a legal business. So it could…[Read more]

Aimee, I’m not entirely sure. This seems to fall into a gray area, because it’s neither an indirect sale nor a direct sale, really. My guess, which could be wrong, is that this would not be allowed because you are not selling to the end consumer. I’d recommend you call the state ag dept for official clarification.

If you only plan on selling them at farmers markets, then you might be able to do that with the cottage food law. Otherwise, I think the only way to do that is with a commercial license. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

Hello! I’am starting my new cottage food business in Seminole County, Florida. I will be baking Bundt Cakes, cupcakes and muffins… Recently a lawyer office ask me if I can sell them a certain amount of muffins weekly so they can give them away as a gift for their clients. Can I do that?

From what I’ve heard, Miami doesn’t allow any types of homemade food to be sold. Miami-Dade County has banned the cottage food law. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

The limit isn’t actively regulated, but a health or ag dept could shut down an operation if it was clear that they were making too much. I’d say it’s more self-regulated, in that people know if they make more than $15K then they’re doing something illegal. That limitation is baked right into Florida’s law, so an amendment to the law would need to…[Read more]