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]

Converse, you might want to look up the regulations for pet and animal food.  I know they are less strict but they probably have their own set of crazy rules.  See here in FL you can only sell raw dairy products if you are selling it as pet feed and not for human consumption.  (I suppose what people do with their pet food in the privacy of their own home is their own business.)

[Brian]

I know of several people selling grass fed beef in FL as pet food direct from the farm. It was marked "not for human consumption". I also know some people who purchased some and thought it tasted pretty good :-)

I know about a bison farmer who went through the effort to get USDA certified within the State of Florida. Both packages were wrapped similarly.

[TCLynx]

What grass fed beef I've had, I thought was pretty good.

[Nate Storey]

That's one way to do it Brian.  In my neck of the woods there's a very robust barter system.  It's beautiful because bartered goods are not taxed.  You simply trade with other producers for everything you need, and once you've met your needs you sell the rest.  You pay no taxes come in under the caps set for lots of organic and food production businesses, etc.  We get around our issues with fish by selling them "live" on ice- as alive as a tilapia can be when he's just about froze clean through. . .  anyway, trade is a beautiful thing. . . gets around a lot of red tape.

[Nate Storey]

Yeah, I like grass fed, but I was raised on wild meat, so it's not a big leap for me.  Paul and I trade herbs to a guy who runs highland beefs on his place.  pretty darn good.

TCLynx said:

What grass fed beef I've had, I thought was pretty good.

[TCLynx]

Yep, doing things in trade is a good way, especially if the people who want something from you have something you want in trade.