Michelle Laverne

The cottage food law covers spices and seasonings, so yes, you can make those, and yes, you would be limited to less than $20,000 of sales. You need to get a sales tax certificate.

It’s worded in a confusing way, but basically, the bill language means that if you make “$20,000 or more”, then the cottage food law exemption no longer applies to…[Read more]

At the very least, you need a sales tax certificate and you may need to get other local permits.
http://forrager.com/law/louisiana/
http://forrager.com/faq/#starting

You need to prepare pizza in a commercial kitchen. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

Yes, the only way is by using a commercial kitchen. You might be able to make meals in your home if you build a separate commercial kitchen in it. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

My recommendation is to simply not put nutrition info on labels, and this is what the vast majority of CFOs do. Most small businesses are automatically exempt from needing to include a nutrition facts panel.

Using a nutrition facts calculator is a good way to estimate the nutrition info in an item, but it will always be an approximation until you…[Read more]

Hello,

Yes, you charge state taxes. The sales tax office for the parish taxes let me know that.

Hello,

I live in St. Mary Parish and I had to pretty much explain to the sales tax office what the Cottage Food Law was and where they could find the information on the law in order for me to get my sales tax certificate and occupational license. The lady in the office was nice enough to let me know that I could go online and file for my state…[Read more]

Thanks so much John… you’re completely right, and I should have double-checked the law. I see that my initial comment was posted before the most recent amendment.

For anyone stumbling upon this thread, it’s worth noting that canned goods need to meet certain requirements, so not all BBQ or marinara sauce recipes would be allowed. You should…[Read more]

I’m not sure either, but I’ve heard that you need to charge at least parish taxes, possibly state too. Have you called the Department of Revenue? http://forrager.com/faq/#sales-tax

Only certain types of condiments are allowed, and BBQ sauce isn’t one of them. It has to do with the potential risks associated with producing BBQ sauce. I do encourage you to confirm that with the health dept though, just to be sure.