Google Cottage Food Regulations, along with your state, and you’ll see the rules for cooking food for sale in your home kitchen. The rules are constantly evolving, especially during Covid, when people weren’t working, and needed to make money selling at farmers markets and such. But the rules generally aren’t that complicated, which is nice for a government thing, for a change.
Usually it can’t be stuff with meat or dairy that has to be kept hot or cold. Baked goods like breads/ cakes/ cookies, candies, jarred stuff like jellies, etc. Basically think room temperature/shelf stable.
There are also rules about labeling, font size, specific disclaimers, etc.
Looking at this, the brownies and bread would be legal in my state, but serving hot soup, especially with meat in it, would be more of a restaurant item, and would be prohibited as a cottage food offering.
I used to own an ice cream shop, and we tapped into the Cottage Food laws a bit. We made our own caramel and fudge (oh yeah, every bit as delicious as you’re thinking), and brownies and cookie dough (meh) but we didn’t have a stove at the store, so we made them at home. We didn’t sell them to the public, we just used them in our ice cream.
That’s another issue with Cottage Foods. The cook can sell them themselves, but they can’t wholesale it to someone else, and at the time, they couldn’t sell it online. Again, the rules are constantly evolving, and every state is different, so YMMV. For instance, another poster mentioned getting a Cottage Food license, but that isn’t necessary in my state. You could bake a bunch of brownies, and sell them at your lemonade stand in front of your house today.
In all my limited experience in the Cottage Food world, not once did any authority, food safety inspector, etc. ever ask a word about it. They have these rules, but I’m not sure who would be in charge of enforcing them, and I doubt they even know, so you’re pretty much free to do whatever you want - until someone gets sick. Then you’re screwed.
So stick to the rules, avoid meat, and you’ll be fine.
Okay, did that, and yeah, you guys are a little tougher, but not that bad, depending on what the training takes, how much it costs, and how long the approval process takes. Knowing California, all of it is probably “a lot.” Kinda sucks. California is the poster child for Democratic over-regulation.
However, the food handler training is pretty easy, mostly common sense. Teenagers get it to work at McDs, so you’ll be fine. Getting the permit and registration is probably just a matter of paperwork and a fee, and a wait. Nothing said anything about a kitchen inspection, unless you need that for the permit. But they’re expecting to go into everybody’s normal kitchen, so just give it deep clean, put EVERYTHING away, polish the counters, appliances, and floors, and make sure there is soap, hot water, and paper towels next the sink (it’s a thing), and you’ll probably be fine.
In my Red state, the laws are pretty simple, no refrigeration, direct-to-consumer (and they allow Internet and mail order now), specific label language, and you can’t make over $250K (we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, right?). Like I said, I could literally bake a pan of brownies right now, and sell them at my driveway lemonade stand as soon as they’re ready.
Not that I’m extolling the virtues of this state, the government absolutely sucks, but their cottage food laws are working right now, so at least they got that going for them. Wait until they figure out that it give undocumented people the opportunity to make money in their own kitchens, they’ll abolish them immediately.
Your kitchen doesn’t need to be certified.
Google Cottage Food Regulations, along with your state, and you’ll see the rules for cooking food for sale in your home kitchen. The rules are constantly evolving, especially during Covid, when people weren’t working, and needed to make money selling at farmers markets and such. But the rules generally aren’t that complicated, which is nice for a government thing, for a change.
Usually it can’t be stuff with meat or dairy that has to be kept hot or cold. Baked goods like breads/ cakes/ cookies, candies, jarred stuff like jellies, etc. Basically think room temperature/shelf stable.
There are also rules about labeling, font size, specific disclaimers, etc.
Looking at this, the brownies and bread would be legal in my state, but serving hot soup, especially with meat in it, would be more of a restaurant item, and would be prohibited as a cottage food offering.
I used to own an ice cream shop, and we tapped into the Cottage Food laws a bit. We made our own caramel and fudge (oh yeah, every bit as delicious as you’re thinking), and brownies and cookie dough (meh) but we didn’t have a stove at the store, so we made them at home. We didn’t sell them to the public, we just used them in our ice cream.
That’s another issue with Cottage Foods. The cook can sell them themselves, but they can’t wholesale it to someone else, and at the time, they couldn’t sell it online. Again, the rules are constantly evolving, and every state is different, so YMMV. For instance, another poster mentioned getting a Cottage Food license, but that isn’t necessary in my state. You could bake a bunch of brownies, and sell them at your lemonade stand in front of your house today.
In all my limited experience in the Cottage Food world, not once did any authority, food safety inspector, etc. ever ask a word about it. They have these rules, but I’m not sure who would be in charge of enforcing them, and I doubt they even know, so you’re pretty much free to do whatever you want - until someone gets sick. Then you’re screwed.
So stick to the rules, avoid meat, and you’ll be fine.
google california for me reeeaaal quick
Okay, did that, and yeah, you guys are a little tougher, but not that bad, depending on what the training takes, how much it costs, and how long the approval process takes. Knowing California, all of it is probably “a lot.” Kinda sucks. California is the poster child for Democratic over-regulation.
However, the food handler training is pretty easy, mostly common sense. Teenagers get it to work at McDs, so you’ll be fine. Getting the permit and registration is probably just a matter of paperwork and a fee, and a wait. Nothing said anything about a kitchen inspection, unless you need that for the permit. But they’re expecting to go into everybody’s normal kitchen, so just give it deep clean, put EVERYTHING away, polish the counters, appliances, and floors, and make sure there is soap, hot water, and paper towels next the sink (it’s a thing), and you’ll probably be fine.
In my Red state, the laws are pretty simple, no refrigeration, direct-to-consumer (and they allow Internet and mail order now), specific label language, and you can’t make over $250K (we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, right?). Like I said, I could literally bake a pan of brownies right now, and sell them at my driveway lemonade stand as soon as they’re ready.
Not that I’m extolling the virtues of this state, the government absolutely sucks, but their cottage food laws are working right now, so at least they got that going for them. Wait until they figure out that it give undocumented people the opportunity to make money in their own kitchens, they’ll abolish them immediately.