There have been a number of questions about food prep from the home kitchen and I will attempt to clear up some of the mystery. There are approximately 17 states that have some type of cottage law that allow for home based baking or home-food process for low risk foods (e.g. baked goods, jams, jellies, preserves and certain types of pickles and dry mixes and spices.) You will need to check with your state/local health department, although often the state Department of Agriculture is the regulating body overseeing this form of food production. There are strick guidelines, but in some of the 17 states it is not impossible to operate a home-based bakery. Some restrictions involve selling only at farmer's markets while others allow you to sell to the general public. There is no state (to my knowledge) that will allow you to "cook" food from you home and sell to the public. There are specific exemptions for non-profit agencies e.g. churches, community organizations when participating in fundraisers. The rule of thumb...check with the health dept. or dept. of agriculture to learn the rules and regs in your community. |