Cottage food laws are what create the rules under which people can make certain kinds of food products in their home kitchens and then sell them, whether from their home (in some cases) or at a market of some sort without a commercial kitchen license or a state inspection or traditional food permits.
Primary examples are baked goods like bread, or jams or honey — what are referred to as low-risk foods that don't require time or temperature control for safety.
In 2021, the Florida legislature passed the Home Sweet Home Act. It overhauled the state's cottage food laws to make it possible to sell more under them without hitting a cap, from $50,000 a year to $250,000 — and it permitted online sales and shipping through the mail, among other things that expanded what's allowed.
The cottage food industry nationwide has grown in the past decade or so, in part because of changes like Florida's 2021 law. We learn about how Florida's laws work, what people interested in selling their home homemade products should know, and why more people are choosing cottage food sales as a side hustle.
Click here to learn more from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services website.
Click here to find out how to learn more from the folks at UF/IFAS.
Guests:
Dr. Stephanie Brown, State Specialized Extension Agent for Food Science with University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences – she works out of their Southwest Florida Research & Education Center in Immokalee
Jen Hagen, Family and Consumer Sciences agent with UF/IFAS's Lee County Extension office
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