Katherine MacElwain

It’s quite possible that they would not be allowed, given the egg content of macarons, but you have to check with the health dept. If they’re not allowed, you’d need to use a commercial kitchen. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

Unless you are buying and reselling commercially made a pre-packaged fondant toppers, I don’t think this would be allowed. I’m pretty sure you need to use a commercial kitchen. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

You can buy premade items and use them, as long as those items would be allowed if you made them. For instance, if Colorado doesn’t allow frostings that contain dairy, then you couldn’t use a commercially-produced frosting that contains dairy, even if it doesn’t require refrigeration. At least that is my understanding… perhaps the health dept…[Read more]

Your state of Colorado is the only one that has this product-based sales limit.

From my understanding, it’s actually pretty broad, and I think that, at the very least, different flavors of cake would be considered different products. I also think that a chocolate cake and a chocolate cupcake would be considered separate products, but I’m not sure…[Read more]

You’re not going to be able to merge a CFO with a commercial operation. Since your friend has a commercial kitchen, I’d recommend skipping the cottage food law and getting certified as a regular food operation. But it’s sometimes a good idea to deal with the limitations of the cottage food law for the short term until you prove your business concept.

Alex, it depends on where you live, but many states will not allow ganache, since it contains cream.

Deb, yes you can sell your cakes and yes, you need to register with the ag dept, and there are a number of other requirements, which you can read through on this page: http://forrager.com/law/minnesota/

If you want to use cream cheese frosting, then you can’t run your business from home. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial