The New Cottage Food Rules
A year ago, Wyoming enacted a food freedom law that supporters considered “revolutionary” and a “landmark success”, while others warned of the impending food safety dangers from uncertified kitchens. Unlike most cottage food laws, this one allows (gasp) potentially-hazardous foods like soups, casseroles, and even a cooked turkey — all without any licensing, inspections, or government oversight.
An Update On Wyoming
Now that Wyoming has tested the waters of food freedom for a year, how’s it going? Are people using the new law, and if so, is it negatively impacting the public health? As Reason Magazine reports, the law has been a “roaring success”, and Wyoming is now looking at ways to expand their Food Freedom Act.
Regarding the status of the public health, State Rep. Tyler Lindholm said “Currently Wyoming has experienced none of the deaths that we were all warned would happen”. This is hardly surprising… if you step back and think about it, you’ve probably eaten quite a bit of this uninspected and “potentially hazardous” food: maybe you made it in your own kitchen or tried some at a friend’s house, and you lived to tell the tale.
The Food Safety Fear
Wyoming is just the latest example of a cottage food law having no negative reports or impacts on the public health, which is particularly notable since their law allows perishable food items. In fact, the lack of bad news suggests that these small businesses are actually less hazardous than commercial, inspected ones. And yet, food safety concerns continue to kill cottage food bills around the country.
For instance, one senator in New Jersey continues to block every cottage food bill, in the name of safety. Wisconsin’s bill to introduce baked goods (the least risky and most common of all cottage foods) just failed. And food freedom bills in Virginia, Maine, and Utah haven’t succeeded.
Is It Really About Safety?
Since there are dozens of cottage food laws, and there is no evidence that cottage food operations are more hazardous to the public health than commercial ones, we have to wonder if that’s really the issue preventing these bills from passing. When we dig a little deeper, we find that there’s often another fear altogether: fear of competition.
Some, like that New Jersey senator, are very open about their concern of competition. Others often use food safety as a cover for their true motives… saying no to the bill in order to “protect the public” makes them look good.
Often commercial food business associations will get involved in the opposition, citing health issues as their primary concern. When a bakers association takes the initiative to create an anti-bill petition, focusing their objection around food safety, you can be sure that there’s another major concern at play: money.
Progress, Little By Little
Despite some of the setbacks, there continues to be progress in the cottage food movement every year. Last fall, Montana and Connecticut added a cottage food law (though CT’s is highly flawed). Earlier this year, Oregon added a law, and Illinois and Ohio amended theirs. And three days ago, an amendment to Colorado’s cottage food law was signed by the governor.
A couple years ago, a food freedom law seemed like a pipe dream, but today, these bills are being taken seriously. About a decade ago, the cottage food movement started slowly taking off, and we see the same thing happening with food freedom today. It may still be largely underground, but the seeds have been planted and they are growing. The rules are changing yet again… what do you think the local food scene will look like five years from now?
Comments
Dorothy
I have been thinking about trying to either back (from home) either cookies or my Mom’s pound cake recipe. I live in St Louis, Missouri and cottage law states (2014) that I cannot sell over the internet but I can sell to shops, stores, individuals and the like. I would like to know how to get started. I really don’t want to go from place to place taking samples. Do you feel it would be okay to send flyers out, or is there some other way to get my name out there? I don’t do social networking since being “burned” by hackers.
David Crabill
Actually, the cottage food law doesn’t allow you to sell to shops or stores either (only direct, in-person sales) are allowed. You can use a commercial kitchen to start your business, which would allow you to sell to stores and online. You can try to send out flyers, but honestly, I’m not sure if that would generate any interest. I’m not going to beat around the bush: starting a business and introducing a new product to market is very difficult and requires a lot of “pounding the pavement”. If you’re not willing to put a lot of effort into marketing your product, then it’s likely that it will remain a small hobby for you, which is fine if that’s what you want.
Nelly
Can I sell alcoholic beverages on etsy , we are stating in CA. Thanks
David Crabill
In order to do that, you need to prepare the beverages in a commercial kitchen, and you likely need to get special licenses for selling alcohol. You should talk to your health dept about what you need. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial
Mary
Could you please tell me who I need to talk to get help with Oklahoma’s Cottage Food Law. It is very confining for what can be made. If you have any one who could help, please let me know.
David Crabill
You should contact your health dept to figure out what’s best for your business.
Nora
I wish Texas cottage law allow us to sell to the public retails and restaurants. I guess baby-step to get the law passes.
David Crabill
They tried passing a bill for that in the last session and I’m sure they will try passing one in the next. It’s happening, but slowly.