Cottage Food Laws In Ohio

Business By amberlee416 Updated 4 Mar 2011 , 6:08am by jason_kraft

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Loucinda Posted 23 Feb 2011 , 12:13am
post #61 of 78

craftybarb - There are really nice, knowledgeable people who work at the Dept. of Agriculture here in Ohio. If you need to talk to an inspector, they will get back with you. I have the name and number of the one I work with if you ever need it.

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flamingobaker Posted 23 Feb 2011 , 12:53am
post #62 of 78

Perhaps sugar-blossoms is confused about the term "cottage food"
The whole point is that we are producing "non hazardous food".

As for equipment, I believe we are specifically prohibited from using commercial equipment, for example we have to use a regular home oven.

The things she says are either scare tactics because she is making them up in regards to cottage foods, or she is confusing them with "licensed" home kitchens and even "commercial" kitchens.

Either way, her first post on a topic that is 2 years old is a sales ad.
"no credit check" is code for "scam"

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kelleym Posted 23 Feb 2011 , 1:10am
post #63 of 78
Quote:
Originally Posted by sugar_blossoms

I am seeing soooo much confusion on here in regards to regulations and sales and licensing. Out of many questions from my network of cake decorating students/home bakers came the concept of the bakery in a box business opportunity for home bakers. This posting is not intended for sales purposes it's just the same as I was hearing in my classes so I put together this program. Everything from day one when you walk into your first class to the day you cut and serve your first wedding cake with our support helping you deliver it and serve it is included in the program including all supplies that enable you to compete with the groceries and the cake kits. The building is even available to be included. The entire program is financed. Rent to own, no credit check. We developed this to enable those in our county to find income quickly in these economic times affordably. We are also the liason to the statea and county inspections and regulations. image is a home bakers biggest challange. I have been doing this for 30 years. Regulate or be Regulated is the mantra every one of you should have. Pets in the home is an absolute no if you are a serious professional baker regardless of what the state and county state. If you expect to make money you have to operate professionally. If we don't as a group operate professionally we will lose this opportunity we are truly blessed with. Other states wish they have this opportunity. In the meantime I will try to help answer questions here.




Because you only ever posted on Cake Central twice before this post, and it was 3 years ago, and because you dredged this two year old thread up, I can only guess that you were doing a search for threads about Ohio so you could advertise your "business". Perhaps you missed the notice that this is not an advertisement forum, and per the terms of this site you must contact the site owners for permission if you would like to advertise a product in any manner other than in your signature.

Therefore, I dub the above post spam, followed by know-it-all scare tactics, followed by a hilariously misspelled "amature" (is that like an armature?) flame that is only going to make people laugh at you.

Please familiarize yourself with the rules of the forum.

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cakegirl1973 Posted 23 Feb 2011 , 1:33am
post #64 of 78

Very well said, kelleym! thumbs_up.gif

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Occther Posted 23 Feb 2011 , 1:52am
post #65 of 78

All I have to say, is this post is worth watching!! It does seem to that sugar_blossoms is trying to sell some type of business or information. I have to chuckle - because her/his proof reading is worse than mine!!

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craftybarb Posted 23 Feb 2011 , 2:10am
post #66 of 78

Thank you I have learned so much from this site.

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Sarahbearah Posted 23 Feb 2011 , 2:20am
post #67 of 78

I am in Ohio as well, and looking to start selling cakes!

So in order to sell under the Cottage law, is there anything that you need to do?

Do you need to fill anything out, or is it just starting up and making sure that you label your products and everything?

Just wonder!

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flamingobaker Posted 23 Feb 2011 , 2:45pm
post #68 of 78

Hi Sarah

Here's a link to the rules for Cottage Foods in Ohio:
http://www.agri.ohio.gov/foodsafety/docs/CottageFoodOperation-factsheet.pdf
This biggest issue (I think) is no cheesecakes, no whipped cream or perishable fillings, cassata cakes, meringue butter creams, etc.

I have my business name registered with the state. It's not necessary, but it prevents someone else from using the name (to a certain degree)

You can get a business license so that you can buy supplies tax-exempt and but at wholesale places. Again, not necessary. I don't have one.

It's a good idea to get a business rider on your home insurance (about $200/year) I have it, but it's not required

As far as taxes, I just file the income on my personal tax form.

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DebbyJG Posted 23 Feb 2011 , 3:34pm
post #69 of 78

I'm another Ohio home cottage baker. I have set myself up as an LLC -- for legal reasons, so that if I were to be sued, they could only go as far as my business and not my personal finances/home/etc. (I can thank my attorney husband for enlightening me as to the good reasons to go the LLC route..) icon_smile.gif

I am in the process of getting inspected (waiting for them the call and set up a time to come out), but I'm not doing it because I have to. I have no intention of selling cheesecakes (yuck!) and the cakes I make are all shelf stable. But I do want the ability to eventually sell items out of state, which you have to be licensed to do. Also, I see getting licensed as just a "stamp of approval" on what I'm already doing. I've had people ask me if I'm licensed, and it's just annoying trying to explain cottage industry regulations and assuring them that everything is safe. For $10, even with the inconvienience of having an inspector come out, it's worth it.

MY biggest pet peeve? Seeing websites of so many non-home bakeries who are selling cakes with licensed characters on them. I put a lot of time and explanation into explaining to every fifth person who contacts me for their kid's birthday cake why I can't legally make Spongebob or Mickey, and then I happen to find several of the most well-known bakers in town, and there on their websites -- Dora, Mickey, etc., all piped in buttercreme or modeled out of gum paste. I'm quite sure they haven't applied for the licensing of those characters, either. (Otherwise they would cost a LOT more than the price quoted on the website, or the character would look more...licensed-accurate. icon_wink.gif
Sorry about the little OT rant. It's just been my annoyance du jour. icon_smile.gif

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cheatize Posted 23 Feb 2011 , 5:10pm
post #70 of 78

How has this person been doing it for 30 years? Is the picture on their website that outdated?

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Mama_Mias_Cakes Posted 25 Feb 2011 , 7:00am
post #71 of 78

WoW icon_eek.gif

Craftybarb and Sarah, both Loucinda and Khalstead are the 2 most informative people on here IMHO about Ohio regulations and laws. They both have helped me out tremendously on this site. icon_smile.gif

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sugar_blossoms Posted 3 Mar 2011 , 2:40pm
post #72 of 78

First a dish pan on the counter with bleach or sanitizer in it to sanitize your tolls and sanitizing counters and table tops doesn't anywhere indicate commercial equipment. For you to consider that to be commercial what must you be using currently?

Secondly, not producing hazardous products is nothing close to the same thing as food safety and security. As far as non hazardous, your ingredients list still contains foods that require safe food handling and storage. You seemed to be confused on the subject at hand here and a very critical point NOT to be confused about.

My info was background info and addressing the fact that through my advanced classes the need for helping those new to baking out of their home for mass production has been identified and we have taken that a step further and are walking through all those first steps of setting up your kitchen for food safety and addressing the issue of food contamination which is not the same as producing hazardous product or not! Chemicals still not be stored with ingredients, open packages such as flour with unused remaining should be moved to sealed containers etc..everything that is required of you if you choose to become a licensed home bakery. Introducing them to the trade magazines and suppliers, assisting with the first wedding cake delivery setup and cutting all of those things, my students aren't left out there on any aspect unt they are comfortable was the point of that so drop the spam attempts if you look the info isn't eve on my own website. I develop Master Bakers and Master Decorators prepared to open their own bakeries. This is training hard to come by easily. My business and career will also be fine thank you.
My few postings..I had another username and when I get some time here and there I try to come over to cake central and post tutorials such as one on a basketweave baby carriage hood and try to answer questions that have come up and my students and I have addressed. I have also developed a frosting formula that eliminated greasy mouth feel, too sweet, and surface cracks. The science of baking and ingredients is another area of experience I have to offer. I have made many contributions to this site. The only thing new is our business name and logo

Which brings us to the most important point, food contamination if there are pets in the home you are going to have contaminated ingredients at some point in some manner shape and form and if you keep openly declaring it like a badge of honor on here not only is it derogatory to the baking industry and bakers but the health department will take notice

Finally the best part no that is not and out dated photo. I began decorating with my grandma when I was little, began at dairy queen at 17 eventually a scratch baker and bakery manager at Big Bear, then began teaching later, wrote a book, started Sugar Blossom's which evolved out of our classes and now yes I do have 30 years experience and that is my photo but thank you for making it an absolute fabulous day with the best compliment ever!! And off you go.

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dreamsville Posted 4 Mar 2011 , 3:26am
post #73 of 78

So am I right that because I have two dogs in my house, the state won't give me a license? I won't pass an inspection?

So is there anything I CAN do out of my house??

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jason_kraft Posted 4 Mar 2011 , 3:48am
post #74 of 78
Quote:
Originally Posted by dreamsville

So am I right that because I have two dogs in my house, the state won't give me a license? I won't pass an inspection?



You would probably want to contact the office the inspector works in (not sure if it's at the county or state level in your area) and ask.

Personally I think that if you follow food safety rules and keep the dogs out of the kitchen it shouldn't be a big deal, but the inspector may have a different opinion, which is why you should take the inspector's word for it instead of listening to posters here.

EDIT: Here is a relevant link from OH DoAg stating that no carpets and no pets are allowed for a Home Bakery license. The OH Cottage Food license has no such restrictions because inspections are not necessary.
http://www.agri.ohio.gov/licensing/odalicensing.aspx?div=Food%20Safety

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sugar_blossoms Posted 4 Mar 2011 , 3:48am
post #75 of 78

To be licensed home bakery you cannot have pets in the home and you cannot have carpet in the kitchen. For a cottage bakery you are limited in the type of product you can produce and are not permitted to sell outside the state of ohio. The manner you produce your products in is pretty open to your own standard of best practices.

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sugar_blossoms Posted 4 Mar 2011 , 3:55am
post #76 of 78

The licensed home bakery is where you really begin to get into how your ingredients are stored, how your packaging is stored, your production methods and things of this nature when the health inspector does the inspection. This is also where the level of expectation of ingredient and product contamination protection and interest in how your products are being produced really gets stepped up a great deal also.

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sugar_blossoms Posted 4 Mar 2011 , 4:43am
post #77 of 78
Quote:
Originally Posted by flamingobaker

Perhaps sugar-blossoms is confused about the term "cottage food"
The whole point is that we are producing "non hazardous food".

As for equipment, I believe we are specifically prohibited from using commercial equipment, for example we have to use a regular home oven.

The things she says are either scare tactics because she is making them up in regards to cottage foods, or she is confusing them with "licensed" home kitchens and even "commercial" kitchens.

Either way, her first post on a topic that is 2 years old is a sales ad.
"no credit check" is code for "scam"




901:3-20-03 Cottage food products sampling.
All food products, including those produced and packaged by a cottage food production operation are subject to food sampling conducted by the director of agriculture, or representative the director authorizes, to determine if a food product is misbranded or adulterated. A component of the food sampling conducted under this section may include the performance of sample analyses in accordance with section 3715 of the Revised Code.


As far as digging up this topic and trolling the forums, if you click on go to forums or a link something like that name this topic is listed pretty much up towards the top so I clicked on it. You are pretty much getting borderline slander with the defensive paranoid personal attacks

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jason_kraft Posted 4 Mar 2011 , 6:08am
post #78 of 78
Quote:
Originally Posted by sugar_blossoms

901:3-20-03 Cottage food products sampling.
All food products, including those produced and packaged by a cottage food production operation are subject to food sampling conducted by the director of agriculture, or representative the director authorizes, to determine if a food product is misbranded or adulterated. A component of the food sampling conducted under this section may include the performance of sample analyses in accordance with section 3715 of the Revised Code.



Food sampling is not the same thing as an inspection of the food production facilities, and sampling would only occur if there was a customer complaint or an outbreak of food-borne illness.

And LOL at the "borderline slander" accusation. icon_smile.gif

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