Michelle Mckinney

I really have no idea if Utah requires lab testing for certain items, but they probably do on these kind of items. You should get in touch with Rebecca Nielsen, who is the cottage food coordinator for UT — her number is 801-538-7152.

Under Ohio’s cottage food law, you can’t sell online or use a commercial kitchen. You need to get a commercial license: http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

There is probably somewhere in the food code that says something about commercial licensing and commercial kitchens, and it may even list some requirements about how producers handle food, but you really won’t be able to get the full scoop without talking to them directly.

I don’t think it will matter that the extra building is almost a house.…[Read more]

No — it needs to be from home or at a farmers market, event, or roadside stand.

1) I am really not sure about ghee, but I’m almost certain this would not be allowed. You need to call the ag dept for clarification.

2) This isn’t allowed under the cottage food law. You need special licensing to sell alcohol.

Yes — you should contact your planning division and see if there are any local requirements, like a general business license.

I don’t think you can use the cottage food law, since the kitchen is not in your primary residence. You should call the health dept and ask if they would allow it.

You definitely need to call your health dept before spending a ton of money on this. I don’t think you can use the cottage food law, since it’s not the kitchen in your primary residence. You can probably do this with a commercial license if you make that building into a commercial kitchen, but you need to be aware of all the requirements that go…[Read more]

No — WA only allows high-sugar jams, jellies, and preserves, as well as fruit butters.

You can make them from home, but you can only sell them at events and at roadside stands. The rules are the same whether you promote your business or not. The person to contact about these rules is Kenan Bullinger at 701-328-1291.

Catering would be different from a home business. Most states have a separate catering license, but I don’t know…[Read more]

Dried fruit is allowed, but not dried vegetables.

You should have gotten your application from your environmental health dept, and that’s where you’d send it. This is the first line in the Business section on the CA law page… please let me know if there’s a way you think I could make it more clear.

If you’re offering the item in-person after receiving a donation for a nonprofit, then there may be an exemption for you: http://forrager.com/faq/#nonprofit
In that case, you should not be getting compensated in any way.

Labeling it as a free gift doesn’t really change anything, since you can actually sell the item to raise money for a cause…[Read more]

I don’t think it matters what kind of nonprofit it is… if you’re shipping homemade food around as part of a business then that’s not allowed.

Even though online sales aren’t allowed, paying thru PayPal in-person still maintains the spirit of the law and I would say it’s okay to do that. It’s really not much different from using PayPal Here, and…[Read more]

I believe that you can, but you should probably check with the county’s health dept first. For instance, I know that Miami-Dade won’t allow any cottage food sales, but that is the only county I know of that prohibits them.

No… everything you sell must be baked.