Cottage Food Law

[Brian]

I wanted to share some research I've been doing regarding the cottage food laws that provide some possibilities to prepare certains types of food products from a homebased kitchen. Not all states offer this possibility, but certain states do. Here's a list. Farmer's Market Coalition has a nice article that offers sources for further research as well.

It's important to understand that all states are different and what's allowed in Illinois might not be allowed in Florida, for example. While jams and jellies are allowed in many states, canning pickles from home is rarely allowed. As with any regulation, they are subject to change. If you decide to pursue this, it's important to stay current with changes to the rules that affect homebased operators.

From HomeBasedBaking.com:

As with any other business endeavor there are certain rules and regulations that govern the industry. These rules and regulations are set by the individuals states and cover the types of items that can be sold, where vendors can sell, how products must be packaged and labeled and much more. There are currently 31 states that allow citizens to bake from home for profit in some form.

Most of the states have a cap on how much revenue you can earn from a homebased food business. In my state, Michigan, it's $15,000. In other states it's $25,000, or somewhere inbetween.

Many local Michigan micropreneurs have used the cottage food law to launch their business with low costs and then once established transitioned to a larger commercial operation once the $15,000 cap is reached.  Here's an article about a cupcake baker.

The farmer's market near my home is packed with small farmers and urban gardeners taking advantage of these new regulations to launch their own small businesses.

I applaud the states who have crafted regulations to losen the reins on some of the food safety regulations. I've read many other accounts online where the unemployed and under-employed have launched small businesses to help them overcome their current financial struggles.

 

[TCLynx]

Brian,

Thank you for posting this.  What a great resource

[Brian]

I thought it was interesting.  Now I just need to figure hour to grow the ingredients for Grandma Elmlinger's secret peanut butter oatmeal cookie recipe in my aquaponics system. :-)

[TCLynx]

Probably use a sand bed on a separate timer control to grow the peanuts.

What kind of sugar?  Cane or beet?  I'm sure either of those could be grown but processing would be much work on a home scale.

Growing and processing enough wheat might be more challenging.

Butter and eggs might be harder to get directly for AP though you could grow a lot of chicken feed in an AP system.  Growing enough fodder for a cow might be challenging unless it's a really big system.

[Converse]

  Washington State just passed a type of cottage food law that went into effect in July 2011, this past summer.  While it IS a step in the right direction, I share the frustration with so many other local farmers out here.  It is WAY too expensive in the fees department and not practicle in the kitchen requirements department and inspections.  While I realize  that inspections are necessary, there are huge fees associated with these AND you have to use your own normal kitchen, you cannot have a special "side" kitchen set up for your "sales baking/cooking"....so you have inspectors traipsing through your household.  The list of what you can cook in your cottage kitchen for sale is very specific, which does not allow for innovation.  I feel it needs to have a broader category, while still remaining safe for the consumer....Like I said, it is a step in the right direction...however upon meeting with other local farmers at an end-of-the-season Farmers' Market meeting, all the people from Washington who were at first excited about this law and the possibilities that went with it, are now very disappointed.  Not one single person said they could make it work from a financial stand point.  Sad.  So much for a way for those wanting to make a living at home, or added income from added value farm products in Washington State.

[TCLynx]

Wow that sucks Converse.  The FL cottage food laws don't really allow you do to much but there don't seem to be any fees or inspections involved.  Yes it is using your own kitchen seeing as if you are going to install a separate kitchen with commercial equipment, at that point you might be better off making it a commercial kitchen that can pass the full regulations and inspection for true commercial production seeing as the cottage food law only allows you to make a limited amount of money from it's operation anyway.

[Carey Ma]

@ TCL:Actually, sprout or fodder production is not only very simple but very doable with even immature Ap systems. An area about 4 feet by 3 feet is enough to produce around 30lbs of sprout (one cows daily grass consumption).

It really saddens me to hear our great country fall into such shameful state of being. I know I am very lucky to be here in Beijing where my market is almost limitless with little regulations to hamper creative income streams so I feel kind of like a fish out of water on this topic but as you all know, I ALWAYS have an opinion.

The year before last, before we built our private " commercial" kitchen, we cooperated with a nearby hotel to use their kitchen during off hours. My cost was one live chicken per visit and a thorough cleanup after. Other farms around here have taken on a more socialistic approach in a co-op/ timeshare/ network approach. Several of the larger farmers would get together and set up a processing/ packing plant, swapping and sharing resources. Can independent thinking Americans learn to cooperate in this manner? Helping out a neighbor in need is one thing but would they be willing to share? For example, I'll ride-share with one or two people but the car is mine! I want it with me, on my property with the rest of my property, available for me to use at my leisure, instead of having to walk two blocks to the community lot to drive anywhere; where I might find a mobile trash can left over from the previous user.

What do you all think?

@ Converse: Dam man, what's happened to my State since I left? It's no longer the hippy refuge it use to be. Sad, so sad. I'm currently looking at property (not that I have money to buy) for retirement. Any suggestions? Pls answer this on my page.

Cheers

[TCLynx]

growing sprouts to feed the cow, ok, I can see that, though zoning won't allow us to have a cow here.  horses, goats, pigs or sheep either

But in FL the cottage food law says raw seed sprouts are a risky food and you can't sell those.  (Ok so has anyone ever sprouted cooked seeds?  duh)  I'm not really grudging them saying you can't sell sprouts if you are not inspected since I do know they can be a risky food since pathogens can come in on the seeds and/or the water used for sprouting so you must be very careful there.  However the language got me where they talk about raw seed sprouts as if there were such a thing as making sprouts from cooked seeds.

[Converse]

I had looked into the sprouting fodder a bit. This would be sprouting for animal feed. In my state( WA.) this would not come under food laws that are for humans (as far as I could gather). But there are animal food laws...But so many around here grow grass hay in their fields, would not this be the same type of thing...but grown in a controlled environment?  

So In FL.  where you are, do people have chickens?  The fodders are great for them.

 

    At least in growing fodder, one does not have to run out in the field to bring in the hay before the rains hit the field, or suffer losing a whole field of hay that is drying and got rained on...So many many farmers lose entire fields of grass hay every year out here due to fickle weather...Fodder growing in bulk could be a good answer out here.

    I do sprouting on a smaller scale for my livestock on the farm. Pigs, chickens, and other farm fowl.

 

 

 

[TCLynx]

if you are doing it for your own use (you or your animals) you can do it.  It is just selling it where you run into the regulations.

Yea I have chickens and ducks and they love just about everything I give them and more.  It can actually be hard to keep up with providing them green stuff this time of year while all the grass is dormant.  They love when I bring a box of un-sellable produce home from the market (I bring the trimmings from my market system as well as usually a box from the produce guy across the aisle from me, they love the outer cabbage leaves that most people don't want.)

[Carey Ma]

@ Converse: When I lived in Renton, I supplemented my income mainly growing fodder for a neighbor that had a few miniature donkeys and one pony. Again. Too bad the laws are so screwed.

[Converse]

 

  I wonder though...

 Is growing hay in your field and selling to locals ( and not-so-locals) right out of the filed or strage barn as goes on across our state ( and I am sure everywhere else), so different that selling the fodder grown right in your greenhouse?

  I understand the concerns.  Human consumption-wise.  Growing sprouts, and the concerns there. Funny you mentioned the 'raw seed sprouts'. This is an example of laws being written by politicians that know nothing about agriculture. I'd like to see someone grow "cooked seed sprouts" like TCLynx mentioned.

  And yes, I am cautious about what I feed my critters.  But is there any difference in selling hay to people?  Is selling fodder grown in  a greenhouse technically the same situation? It would be lifted and loaded.  That's it. It is not like I would be cooking it, or making it into pellets and bagging it for sale as animal feed. Anyone know?

[Converse]

  Small world!  I spent some of  my 'growing-up years' right next to you in Maple Valley!
 
Carey Ma said:

@ Converse: When I lived in Renton, I supplemented my income mainly growing fodder for a neighbor that had a few miniature donkeys and one pony. Again. Too bad the laws are so screwed.