Every state has some kind of “cottage food” law that lets home cooks sell food to the public. These range from onerous (Delaware) to expansive (Wyoming), but few are perfect. Even in Maine, known for its Food Sovereignty Act, things could be easier for kitchen entrepreneurs.

If food safety is a concern, legislators should know that no foodborne illness has ever been traced back to food sold under a cottage food law–even in the most permissive states.

TAKE ACTION: Demand Cottage Food Freedom! Expand Sales of Homemade Food in Your State!

As the Institute for Justice’s Food Freedom Initiative attests:

Cottage food is safe. Critics who talk about the risk of food-borne illness give hypothetical examples of what could go wrong because real-world cases are rare or nonexistent. There has never been an outbreak of foodborne illness from food sold under a cottage food law–even in California, a state with an economy bigger than most countries that has one of the most expansive laws.

Cottage food is local. When neighbors trade with neighbors, money stays in the local economy and creates and strengthens communities.

Cottage food is transparent. People who buy from a cottage food producer know what they get. If they have questions about ingredients, sourcing or safety, they can ask.

Your legislators need to hear from you, even if you live in a state that already has a pretty good cottage food law. Things could change and not always for the better. In Wisconsin, the cottage food law could get more expansive, but that might come with cumbersome requirements for registration, training, and inspections.

Some cottage food laws are very restrictive and impose burdensome requirements on would-be kitchen entrepreneurs. According to the Institute for Justice’s Food Freedom Initiative, Delaware’s law is the worst.

In Delaware, home chefs must obtain an on-farm home processing license. This is only granted after a home inspection and the completion of an eight-hour food safety course. Additionally, they must provide the state with a list of each product they plan to sell, along with every ingredient, and floor plans of the areas of their home where they will be produced, identifying appliances, food contact surfaces, refrigeration, storage, and restrooms. After all that, they can only sell baked goods, candies, jams, and jellies–and they can only do so at farmers’ markets, craft fairs, and special events.

In Maine, known for its Food Sovereignty Act, the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund had to sue the state after it shut down a home-based business selling locally-sourced prepared meals. The business, Rhiannon Deschaine’s Kenduskeag Kitchen, was operating under a local food sovereignty ordinance that didn’t require it to have a license, but the Maine Department of Health and Human Services ordered inspections and said it couldn’t continue without a commercial kitchen. FTCLDF’s lawsuit prompted a change in the Food Sovereignty Act to explicitly include meals prepared in home kitchens in its definition of protected direct-to-consumer transactions. 

Wyoming’s Food Freedom Act is a good example of an expansive cottage food law. Home chefs may sell any homemade food or drink to the extent allowed by federal law. For instance, they can sell foods made with meat, like beef or chicken, as long as it went through U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection. Sales can be made direct-to-consumer, but also online, by mail, in restaurants, grocery stores, and through delivery services. Up to $250,000 annual sales are allowed and, unlike Delaware (and Maine before FTCLDF’s lawsuit), no inspection, training, or licensing is required.

There’s always a danger that states could clamp down on cottage foods. Wisconsin, there’s a proposal to expand the types of foods allowed for sale, but it would also cap cottage food revenue at $40,000 and introduce new registration and training requirements. Plus, producers earning more than $10,000 annually would have to submit to home inspections.

TAKE ACTION: Demand Cottage Food Freedom! Expand Sales of Homemade Food in Your State!