Amy Huffman

You need to use a commercial kitchen and your business won’t have many limitations: http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

Thanks for the response and that’s good to know, though it is possible to make salsa in a way that is non-potentially hazardous. It sounds like the dept is generally staying away from salsas at this time, which are known (along with other canned vegetables) to be one of the most risky cottage foods.

I think that fruit-only, thoroughly-baked pierogis would be allowed, and all other types of pierogis would not be. You can call the dept at 800-292-3939 to see exactly what they will or will not allow.

I really don’t know, as this is a sourcing issue that health depts in CA seem to be very particular about, especially since you’re sending an ag-based product across state lines into CA. If you followed the appropriate regulations to legally get your raw wheat it into CA (may not be possible), then your sons would have to check with the…[Read more]

I think that would be allowed, but double check with the dept at 800-292-3939

John, you may be able to can the salsa under Wyoming’s cottage food law, assuming that your salsa has a pH of 4.6 or below. You would need to check with the ag dept (Dean – 307-777-6587 or Linda – 307-777-6592) to see if they would allow salsa in general, or if your product needs to be tested. You wouldn’t be able to sell the salsa uncanned.

You…[Read more]

You can sell dry tea with the cottage food law, but you can’t sell homemade brewed tea. If you want to sell (non-homemade) brewed tea outside of your home, you’d need a commercial license: http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

You should call your ag dept to make sure there aren’t any exemptions you can take advantage of.

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]

No, it wasn’t passed and there is still no cottage food law in New Jersey.

I am going to be building a labeling system into this website, but that won’t be available for at least a few months. I know there are companies that will take over printing your labels, but I don’t know any that will also figure out how to arrange the label. You could hire a designer to make your labels, but that would probably be expensive.

A…[Read more]

You need a commercial license, which will free you from almost all of the limitations you’re concerned about: http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

You do need to talk to your health dept and I think Etsy is a good place to start online. However, local sales are usually an easier starting point for getting a food business off the ground.

Commercial food processing laws are fairly complicated and often county-specific. You should direct your questions to your local health dept. Once you get your business setup, you will be able to sell in most places with relatively few restrictions.

Yes, you always have to pay yearly income taxes.