What are 'cottage foods' and what's allowed under Florida law?

This is Gulf Coast Life. I’m Mike Kiniry. Thanks for joining us. 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 license, a state inspection, or a traditional food permit. Think baked goods or jams or honey, what are referred to as low risk foods that don't require time or temperature controls 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, and to sell online and ship through the mail. Among other things, that expanded what's possible. The cottage industry nationwide has grown in the past decade or so, in part because of changes like Florida's 2021 law. Today, we're going to learn about how it all works. Doctor Stephanie Brown is a state specialized extension agent for food sciences with UF IFAs. Welcome to the show, Doctor Brown. Hi. Thank you for having me. And Jen Hagen is a family and consumer sciences agent with UFI Lee County Extension Office. Welcome back to the show, Jen. So pleased to be here. How did I do in the intro teaching at all up. Amazing. You get gold Star. All the way. Leave anything important out. Did I miss characterize anything? Not at all. I think we're ready to talk about it. Okay, let's talk about the home sweet home act. Have you guys both been doing what you do since before 2021? Yes and no. Jen, why don't you take it off first? I have been doing it for 11 years representing UF IFAs in regards to policy and also education awareness around food related entrepreneurship. Stephanie joined us two years ago and she's been my partner in crime in all things food science. Okay. Oh, go. Go ahead. Yes. So before I came here, I was actually at Oregon State University's Food Innovation Center, helping mostly with the research side, but also doing a little bit of work with entrepreneurs back out west. Hence the Oregon connection with what you had for breakfast. Absolutely. Okay. That's a peek behind the curtain for the listeners. So did the. It seems to me that the The Home Sweet Home Act in 2021 really changed things fundamentally. It was possible before, but there were some things that were maybe ambiguous about it. And like I mentioned in the intro, I think before you could only sell up to $50,000 a year, and then it became a quarter million dollars a year. Was that a big deal in the cottage food world? Huge deal. You know, when cottage food came into play back in 2011, you could only sell 15,000. So as things have been amended over the years, now in 2020 1st July, first under Home Sweet Home Act, they allowed you to sell up to $250,000, but also unleashed the opportunity for people to advertise and collect payment over the internet. So that was huge. Before that, you had to do direct to customers. So, Mike, if you wanted to buy my product, we'd have to meet in a well-lit Walmart parking lot and do it in that way. It was all direct to consumer. So with the availability of selling and advertising and collecting payment over the internet, it really launched and became more of a potential side hustle for folks. Correct me if I'm wrong, but one other thing the act did was it preempted local rules. When it comes to this, not necessarily all the rules as I understand it, but explain what that means. Thank you for reminding me that, because that's actually why we're here today. Right. In 2021, Cottage food became a state program in. The guidelines are regulated and overseen by the Florida Department Agriculture of Consumer Services. So prior to 2021, local municipalities had the availability to regulate cottage food. They could say whether they wanted that to take place in their municipality or not. And in 2021, the state said, sorry, this is going to be a state program and you can still regulate things on the local level. But we are overseeing this program at the state level. So huge change. Hence why we're here to talk about it today, to raise a little bit of awareness regarding that. Just for context, do you know what the basically what the rules are out in Oregon? I mean, is Florida like radically different or do you have that information? I don't have the rules offhand for Oregon, but we can say compared to some of our other states, maybe just to the north of us, we are somewhat conservative in some ways, and in some ways we're a little more liberal. We allow for more sales compared to a lot of states, but we really crack down on what you can actually sell. There's a lot of you can do this, but it can only be in this kind of capacity. So that's one of the fun things Jen and I get to spend a lot of time talking about is what truly are those allowable that folks will allow people to do from their home? Well, let's get into that. Yeah. I mean, I mentioned bread and jam and honey, but it's probably more than that. And there's probably some distinction within that. Most definitely. Let's break down jam for a little bit. I know at Christmastime I love getting pepper jelly from friends and family or having those at the holiday parties. But because of the chemical properties of that pepper jelly, it's just not as safe for us to do from a sales perspective. So that's one of the few things. Even though we allow for fruit based jams, jellies, spreads, we can't do that pepper jelly. Unfortunately, under Fedex rule, where in other states they may allow for that, but there are some either paperwork type or inspection type headaches that some of those entrepreneurs would have to go through in their home. Like some states actually require an inspector to come in to do a full inspection before they're allowed to sell foods. Thankfully, we don't have to do that in the state of Florida, so we have a trade off with what we can actually sell, versus we may have to take that inspection component if they ever want to change some things in the future. What's the short version of why that pepper jam doesn't work? Too much water in the system. We really need a lot of acidity to drive the conversation, and Fox just doesn't necessarily want to step into your home and have to validate that for you. So that nice trade off of we're not going to come into your house, but we're just going to say no to certain things. So besides jam like is are there any, you know, distinctions within kinds of bread or anything like that. Yeah. Most definitely. Jen, do you want to help me with this one? Absolutely. And I would, you know, not be a I would have to say that one of the biggest things with the jam that Stephanie has taught me and raised my awareness about is the for and so far is something that we look at in these products when it comes to a food science perspective. Now, under food guidelines for Florida, for cottage food, we're looking at products that are non-hazardous. They don't have a potential to kill your customers. Let's just be honest, because that's not good for business. But they have a stable. They are shelf stable. So there are things that are more often dry or that you would see at a big box commercial outlet that would be in the bakery section, on end caps or on tables. So things that are pretty much non-hazardous by nature of the product. I mentioned in the intro, selling from your home in some cases. Correct me if I'm wrong, but local municipalities can have rules about selling anything from home, in which case you wouldn't be able to without getting a local license of some kind. But it may be. In some cases you can have a garage sale and sell your bread and it's okay. Absolutely. Did I get it right? You did very well. I am, you know, policy has been my jam. I come from a zoning background, so I love this part because cottage food, the guidelines are somewhat silent on what you are responsible as a business operator for understanding at the local level. So when we're looking at things like what you may be able to do, like you said, a garage sale or put up a temporary kiosk, a farm stand or a self vending opportunity, which may just be a cooler in your driveway. That is a problem because two things home occupation license or business tax account applications for you to have tax responsibilities require that you are not running a retail operation out of your home. So that's one thing. So that's a state statute locally. And as you know Mike, in Florida we have 67 different counties. And within those counties multiple municipalities, each locality has its own right to regulate what they want to happen on land in their municipality. So zoning would be the part of the land development Code or regulations that a cottage food operator really needs to dive into to find out if they could have that type of temporary stand in more of a residential zoning, or do they have to be agriculturally zoned, or do they need administrative approval or potential of a conditional use approval from the zoning department in order to have that said stance? So that's where it gets tricky. And so that's the selling. But when it comes to using your kitchen, that's where the systems go. That's where that's where the rules are wide open. Correct. Talk about labeling. Oh Stephanie, I'm going to let you take this because this is one of your favorite things. It is one of my favorite things. So labels are required for our cottage foods. PhD does have a fantastic guidance document on exactly what they're looking for. I believe there's at least six points. One of the biggest things we talk about with our education is those allergen labels. There are nine major allergens. They account for roughly about half of all recalls in the US currently, which I know we see a lot of other things in the news that grab our headlines related to food safety. Allergens kind of slip under the radar, and with that being attributed to about half of our recalls, that's quite an astounding number. So we want to do our best with building up our local entrepreneurs across the state and making sure that they understand what those requirements are, because a label really is the only way to let your customer know what's in that product. And again, we want to reduce their risk and liability. So that's been a big part of our educational emphasis is making sure they understand the importance of that label and what is required to be on there. Who's you know, making sure that the labels are on there. Who's overseeing this in terms of whether people are complying? That's a really great question, Jen. I think I'm going to take it. Yes. I would have to say that, you know, this this industry becomes more pure regulated because you have the folks who have done the things that they need to do in order to sell either retail or commercially. And then they see folks who may be selling under the cottage food law that do not have the knowledge or education or awareness of the risk and liability to not only themselves but also their customers. So often cottage food and different market vendors will self-report on each other, and it is more not so much to call out that you're doing this wrong, but to educate. Because when it comes to consumer awareness, it's on us to make good decisions. And if you are buying a product that you are not aware of, all the ingredients or you have an extreme nut allergy, like Stephanie said, and you buy the product and there are nuts within that ingredient list, then you need to know this is a life or death situation at some point. And I don't mean to be candid about it, but it it is. So that's where it becomes more of less cottage food, cops running around and more peer regulation at the local level. If you're at a flea market or like a, you know, a market, a green market or something like that, chances are the bread and the honey and stuff you see are things being made under these rules. Probably you would hope so. But these products do go back and forth between commercial regulated products. So let me explain, Mike. So if you have a bread, if you are selling that loaf of focaccia bread by itself, that is a cottage food product. The minute you put some type of dairy, cheese or roasted vegetable, that is where you cross the territory of you are no longer operating under the cottage food guidelines. Understood. So that's the distinction within breads. Yes. Not all breads are equal. Correct. And if you think about just dry ingredients, a lot of folks come to us looking to do salsas or marinades or different things of that nature. And we have to say we love your passion, but we need to get you to where you need to be because those liquified products, whether it's the liquid that triggers it or the threshold, those are what differentiate a cottage food product from a regulated product. So most of the cottage food products are dry. And we have a lot of folks that want to do a barbecue sauce. Let's lean into a barbecue spice rub a dry rub instead. That's cottage food. Or let's lean into dried teas as a product that you can then take home and liquefy from the consumer end. But you're not setting up your consumers for potential hazards by selling a liquefied program product. Excuse me? Without that basic food safety knowledge. so let's talk about trends. I mean, you've been doing this for a while, and this is from what I could tell. It seems like this has gone up by, you know, a lot nationwide, not just in Florida. Is that true? Absolutely. I'll let you speak to that real quick if you want. Absolutely. Thank you Jen. So yeah, I would say across the board, a lot of people are wanting to get back to roots and either make things themselves, have more of a hands on approach to understanding better where their food comes from, which is a food scientist. I greatly appreciate people wanting to know how their foods made, how it's getting to them, and what they can do to keep themselves and their family safe. And as far as trends go, I think that's definitely going to be based on state to state. I know West Coast, we see a lot of trends influenced from our neighbors to the West, because that's where we have a lot of import and export, and that also trickles down into the cottage food space. Whereas Florida, we have a lot of vacationers or our favorite term, the snowbirds. And sometimes where they come from influences what we see as demands for food as well as our local community. Sometimes we see things pop up because they don't see that culturally representative food on the shelf. They don't see something they grew up with, and they're just looking for a quick opportunity to get that food to their family and their community to showcase who they are. So we see a lot of those things playing into how trends are emerging. Yeah, the demand is increasing because of cultural trends and then the supply. I mean, who are you guys do classes or some kind of training? I mean, who are the people who are who are finding themselves in this world that maybe wouldn't have, you know, before the rules changed or in the past? Well, I think there's a big demand these days to, like Stephanie said, know where your food comes from and not only where it comes from, but who's producing it. Right? So there's opportunity for education of anybody who has a passion or just loves cooking to create a side hustle us that UF IFAS is extension. Want to educate and take this opportunity to do more of a pain of awareness of the risks and liabilities that these cottage food operators are potentially putting themselves at in order to educate them more. So we want to tell them about these invisible potential code violations, right? Because we don't want code enforcement to show up at their door and say, I'm sorry, you are not following our local regulations. We're going to have to issue a stop sale. Rather, we at UF IFAS are working with our local regulators, code enforcement, our planners to get ahead of this, to educate, build up this awareness so we are more proactive in avoiding any bad press that would come out of something from unintentionally operating without this information. It does seem like at this point, you know, five years after this new legislation, that local code enforcement does have a handle on it. I would say I would love to say yes, but I think because this is a newer trend, there is a little bit of awareness and education that needs to come about because locally, our codes, when it comes to either home occupation or food related businesses, tend to be a little dated. And we're always looking for those trends to release, opportunities to modify our code, to make life in the quality of life for our citizens a little bit more approachable. So whether it's a side hustle of looking to meet extra income, which is one of a part of the demand, or if it is really to be able to offer a product that your customers can come to you, whether it's culturally sensitive, whether it's next door, we want to make sure that on all sides of the table, people are aware and can support this in a correct legal way. Stephanie. So if if somebody does get sick from something you sell, even though you followed all the rules, you're still on the hook for that, I guess. Yes, unfortunately, most definitely. And there are pathways through our state regulatory agencies where you can actually report that information. If you do think that something you have consumed has made you ill. But one of the things we do with our education is try to start building in food safety, even on day one. I know a lot of people don't want to go, oh, safety. Yeah, cleaning and sanitizing. My favorite topic to hit. I've been doing that for what, 50 years? I totally got it. We just want to tell people there's always something to learn, and the game changes a little bit when you're just feeding your family, which we're hoping you're taking those principles to heart to now you're giving that product to somebody else. So we encourage things like getting insurance, talking with other business experts to help find out what are those pieces that you're missing. So if you are going to make this a full business pursuit, you've got the right tools in the toolbox to help you grow and expand accordingly. And I'm going to guess that you would recommend that even though you don't have to have the certifications, you might want to learn everything you need to know to get them to do this safely. Absolutely. Knowledge is definitely power, and we don't want to be gatekeepers of knowledge at UEFA for sure. We want to help put resources and tools in people's hands. So as they continue to grow during their entrepreneurial journey, they can decide, hey, maybe I don't want $250,000 of honey sales or honey products in my house. It's just too sticky, right? Jen? Yes, so what's the next step for me? So we're hoping as we continue to build out different food entrepreneurial business pursuits at UEFA, we're excited. Leadership is taking an interest in that with us, that we can really help people guide them on this journey so that they grow successfully. And again, those risk and liability opportunities are low. I hate to say not no, because there's never a no risk situation, but we want to minimize that as much as possible because these are people's passions. Like Jen said, we want to really help people foster them in the right way. Jen, you mentioned taxes briefly when you were talking about selling from home, but even if you're not selling from home, where does that just is this just income that you I mean, where does how does taxes work on this? Oh, taxes are sticky. I'm sorry. We all love a good pun. Right. But you know, and we are not the tax expert. So that's something I need to punt back to for the cottage food operators to really reach out to their local tax collector. Because the fun fact with cottage food, bread is not taxed. Chocolate is. So depending on your. Answer no easy. It's always like what Steph and I say yes, no maybe. But that is where we want to empower the cottage food operators in the state of Florida. Since this is a state program to really understand what they need to know and do at a local level, and then Lee County and our municipalities with in within Lee County are really looking to promote this educational companion to show that we can work with our local businesses. We can work with our local food relator me food related entrepreneurs. That is a little bit of a tongue twister if you say it fast, because that dollar staying in our community helps everyone. And food is not only an economic development driver, but so is relationships with regulators and citizens because it's a two way street. And if we can help them help themselves, we at UFI are incredibly happy. Our job is done. Vegetables, vegetables? No. No no, I didn't see it anywhere. I just wanted to be. Clear for you. What about first thing I thought when I started researching this was lemonade stands. Where do they fit into this story? If anywhere, you had to bring that up. So lemonade stands from a zoning perspective, are somewhat of a nightmare. You always want to help the kid you know, on the side of the street selling and fundraising for whatever they're doing. If you are all that, Stephanie, take it. But the big thing with lemonade is if you're doing it from an instant, you know, package perspective, that's one thing from a food science perspective, hand squeezing lemonade is a whole nother thing. And zoning just it's it's kind of one of those things. Let's please not go there. So the long and the short of it is lemonade is not allowable under cottage food regulations for the state of Florida. But like Jen said, it's all about process. So is a fresh squeezed is it instant powder? Some of that can actually get you into federal territory depending on the things that we ask, which are usually what are you doing? Who are you selling it to and where are you trying to sell it? And if the right set of answers come up for those three things that determines are you retail exempt, or do we have some federal rules to be talking about there? So it's another situation on that. Depends opportunity. Nothing simple about a lemonade stand. Now is. The. Moral. Of. The story. And fun fact no to lemonade. Yes to boiled peanuts. So if you don't know all the things, please call us because we can help you walk through that. Because not only is cottage food a guidance program, but in Florida we have three different food regulatory agencies, and depending on your product or your business concept, you may fall into one or all three of those spaces. So let us help you navigate that in regards to your business concepts. Well, we'll have a link to y'all's website and the places where people can go to get in touch with you. But we're out of time. Jen Hagen, as a family and consumer science sciences agent with UF IFAS Lee County Extension Office. Thank you Jen. You bet. And Doctor Stephanie Brown is a state specialized extension agent for food sciences with UF IFAS office out in Immokalee at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center. Did I got it right? I did that from memory. Thank you very much. A-plus for today. If you missed any of the show, you can always find all of our episodes on our website. Our show today was produced by Emma Rodriguez, with audio production by Matt Krause and video production by David Oquendo. For now, thanks for listening. I'm Mike Kiniry, this is WGCU-FM Fort Myers 90.1 WMKO Marco Island 91.7 FM, NPR for Southwest Florida.