Cottage Food?

[Robin Garr]

On the Kitchen section of our WineLovers forums, a guy in Texas is talking about a new "cottage food law" that took effect there in September. Apparently this allows the private production and commercial sale of certain food items - mostly baked goods and herb mixtures - by "home bakeries" without anything like the level of regulation and inspections that regular restaurants face.

Here's a Cottage Food page set up by a Texas fan.

http://www.texascottagefoodlaw.com/

You folks think anything like this would fly here? Could it ever get past either the county boards of health or opposition from bricks-and-mortar restaurateurs and the baking industry? And if so, what would it take to make it happen?

You folks think anything like this would fly here?

Pssst. Here? Your provincialism is showing again.
Indiana has had a "Cottage Food" law for a couple of years,
http://cookingwithdenay.com/wp-content/ ... ndiana.pdf

Cottage Food Laws are popping up all over the country. Typically connected to Farmer's Markets but not always. KY does allow farmers who produce the raw materials (or a % of the raw materials) to prepare them into finished product for sale at roadside stands and Farmer's Markets.

It in home bakers who are pushing these laws the most from what I can see on another chatboard I frequent for cake pros. Everyone wants to make cakes, whooppie pies, cookies, etc and be able to sell them. As long as there are no perishable fillings included (real cream fillings, etc) I can get over it, if the kitchen is inspected at least once a year and the baker/cook takes the sanitation course.


With the extreme scrutiny (and by that I mean that the food trucks are getting surprise inspections on the average of once a month) that our local HD is giving to the food trucks, I'd think they'd fall over dead in the middle of Gray St fighting a true Cottage Food Law for KY.

I have been of two minds about this sort of thing. On one hand, I think it is ridiculous that you can't go to a farmers market and buy jam from a farmer without there being a major restaurant kitchen and inspections. I have lived in places where the laws were very strict. I think there is a bit of risk that you agree to take when you buy something from a roadside stand.

On the other hand, I have watched people really push it with the baking. In St Louis, where I just moved from, there are several people wanting to sell cakes for weddings, etc out of their home. They advertise in magazines and newspapers, they are at bridal fairs- they are real businesses. I think this is not fair to the bakery that has all of the official equipment, licenses, insurance and inspections. Now, they are not doing this under any kind of cottage law, I don't think. But a lot of people who want to do this kind of thing- they love baking and want to sell it- don't realize all that is involved and just think that they should be allowed to do so. There is a big difference to someone selling a few pies at a farmers market or by the side of the road than someone who has a website, is buying advertising and is trying to sell 100 wedding cakes in a year. The question is how to make that difference work into a law.

No idea about Kentucky and Louisville since I just got here, but I have read a little bit about the troubles you all have had with food trucks. What is the deal with that? Why are they being so targeted?