By Judith McGeary
The Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA) is working on changes to the cottage food law that could open up new opportunities for home-based food producers.
The current cottage food law allows individuals to make certain foods in their home kitchens (rather than a commercial kitchen) and sell them directly to consumers at specific locations, namely farmers’ markets, farm stands, and city, county, or nonprofit events. The current cottage food law does not include honey or honey products; rather, there is a small honey production operation law that is similar, in that it allows the sale of honey directly to consumers when processed in the beekeeper’s home kitchen. The beekeeper provision, though, is limited to 2,500 lbs per year and has the further restriction that the beekeeper or beekeepers family must personally be the one distributing the honey. Continue reading “Honey & The Cottage Food Laws”