The Lone Star State doesn’t allow home bakers to sell over the Internet, by mail order or through wholesalers. While Texas certainly is ahead of states like Minnesota, there is room for reform. In June, a Minnesota judge dismissed the case, and IJ is now appealing that decision. Arguing these regulations “restrict or defeat the ability…to earn an honest living,” Jane Astramecki and Mara Heck, two home bakers, filed a lawsuit with the Institute for Justice to challenge the Minnesota cottage food law (as shown in the video below). Selling too many cookies or cakes, or selling at a venue that isn’t a farmer’s market or community event could mean up to 90 days in jail or fines of up to $7,500. In Minnesota, home bakers can only earn up to $5,000 a year, one of the lowest caps in the nation. Unfortunately, cottage food laws in other states needlessly restrict entrepreneurs. “Without this law, we wouldn’t have opened our own business,” she noted. To keep up with the demand, sometimes Roth bakes hundreds of cookies a week. Since the end of May, her kitchen now doubles as a bakery where she freshly makes and bakes all her treats from scratch. But when a friend paid her to bake cupcakes for his birthday party, Roth decided to research selling homemade food and came across the cottage food law. Roth has been baking for years as a hobby, mostly for her friends and her church. Take Janette Roth, who runs the Sweet Butter Bakery from her home in El Paso. Now state law explicitly bans cities and counties from using zoning to stop cottage food businesses.īy lowering regulatory barriers, the Texas cottage food law has made it easier for budding entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. One woman in Frisco was told her home-based gluten-free bakery violated the town’s zoning laws. By enforcing zoning ordinances, local governments could essentially ban bakers from operating out of their homes. With HB 970, Texas lawmakers also closed a loophole in the state’s first cottage food law. Previously, the law only permitted selling out of the home directly to consumers. Moreover, HB 970 allows modern-day homesteaders to sell their treats at more locations, including at farmers’ markets, roadside stands and events like county fairs. Now Texans can legally create and sell candy, coated and uncoated nuts, fruit butters, cereal, dried fruits and vegetables, vinegar, pickles, mustard, roasted coffee and popcorn out of their homes. But the state’s second cottage food law ( HB 970), enacted September 1, 2013, redefined “cottage food” to make it more encompassing. Under the first cottage food law ( SB 81) passed back in 2011, Texans were limited to selling only baked goods, jams, jellies and dried herbs. Additionally, Texas requires cottage food businesses to properly package and label their products. Not only are these courses available online, home bakers can finish one in two hours and for as little as $8. Aspiring entrepreneurs need only pass a “food handler” course to learn common-sense information about food safety, hygiene and cross-contamination. Given that cottage food entrepreneurs can also comply with the state’s regulations by taking a general food handler course, the true number of home baking businesses may be even higher.įor bakers like Masters and Padilla, complying with the state’s regulations is relatively painless. Between the two of them, over 1,400 individuals have purchased and completed courses over the past year. In Texas, there are at least two organizations that offer courses specifically designed for cottage food: Texas Food Safety Training and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. However, anyone who wants to operate a cottage food business is required to become a certified food handler. Since Texas does not issue permits or licenses for cottage food production operations, the state does not have a precise way to track them. After contacting both the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and environmental health departments for the 25 largest cities and counties in Texas, the Institute for Justice found no complaints regarding foodborne illnesses from a cottage food business.Īn exact number of just how many of these operations have sprung up is rather hard to come by. The Texas cottage food law does not extend to “potentially hazardous” foods, like dishes that have meat or shellfish, so consumers have had few problems with home bakers.
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