Arizona Members- Check Out The New Food Cottage Bill
Decorating By KimAZ Updated 4 Nov 2011 , 3:31am by chassidyg
WOW....I am SOOO Excited!!!!! I am very new to the baking world and wanted to use farmers markets to get my business started and get my name out there. This is great news!!!!!! I am trying to find out what permits will be needed now. If anyone nows please post it.
THANKS KIM!!!!!!!! for all your posting on this matter.......
I wish it was more specific in wording. I know it won't ever be, but I want to know very specifically some things. Can I make a cake for a wedding? A wedding cake will need a label? Are we not allowed to make scratch recipes with eggs and butter? What about icing? Can it be meringue type? Water content restrictions?? It's so frustrating trying to interpret everything.
Hi Cathy,
Well, I'm not the law on this but I don't see why you couldn't make a wedding cake. Now I've heard some venues may ask for some sort of license or proof of your business. I've personally never had that happen or know anyone who has. But others tell me this happens from time to time.
With this new law though, I'm betting venues may change their thinking knowing it will be legal for home bakers to make these cakes. And yes the rule says any cake would need a label regardless of what it's for. However, most wedding cakes are not in a box so I have no clue how they'd know if it were labeled.
Any recipe can be made as long as the ingredients are potentially non hazardous. Eggs, butter, milk etc are totally fine because they are being cooked into the recipe. It's not like you'd have raw eggs in the cake. I'm sure there is a list of potentially hazardous food items somewhere, I just don't know where. As long as the ingredients are cooked, they are fine from what I understand. I don't know what you mean by water content restrictions.
You are right in that there are no super clear cut rules with specifics on what you can and can't do. Perhaps that will come further down the line.
KimAZ
I wish it was more specific in wording. I know it won't ever be, but I want to know very specifically some things. Can I make a cake for a wedding? A wedding cake will need a label? Are we not allowed to make scratch recipes with eggs and butter? What about icing? Can it be meringue type? Water content restrictions?? It's so frustrating trying to interpret everything.
Dont let it frustrate you too much. I know what the new law says, but the fact that there is no inspection whatsoever required indicates that you are fine to sell cakes made of whatever you want (well except meat cakes 
)to whoever you want. Nobody is going to be checking on you unless you start getting complaints, they dont have anywhere near the manpower to even consider monitoring the number of companies that are going to hit the market.
Best of luck!
Congratulations home bakers in AZ! I have a request on behalf of all those who currently have the right to sell to the public. Don't flood the market with cheap cakes. Know your worth. Don't jump the gun and in your excitement to build a website and sell your goods, overlook the homework on exact costs. Don't undercut the competition. Charge appropriately. Don't make less than a fast food worker. Honor this craft by charging appropriately for your handcrafted works of art. If people balk at your prices, remember why Walmart even exists. Good luck.
Congratulations home bakers in AZ! I have a request on behalf of all those who currently have the right to sell to the public. Don't flood the market with cheap cakes. Know your worth. Don't jump the gun and in your excitement to build a website and sell your goods, overlook the homework on exact costs. Don't undercut the competition. Charge appropriately. Don't make less than a fast food worker. Honor this craft by charging appropriately for your handcrafted works of art. If people balk at your prices, remember why Walmart even exists. Good luck.
Good advice. Which company is yours?
I am a retired planner and did cakes a long time ago.
I am a retired planner and did cakes a long time ago.
Cool. I misread and thought that you were one of those who currently have the right to sell to the public, but now I see that you were making a request on behalf of those that do. Perhaps its shouldnt be measure twice, cut once it should be read twice, reply once. 
I used to live in AZ and I miss it very much. Currently I live in Arkansas and there was recently a cottage food law passed here too. I actually spoke to the health department today about it. They don't seem to be too happy about it but I'm super excited. Just wanted to wish all you folks good luck and happy baking: )
This is just the best news we have had in a very long time! No more worries!! We are seriously happy dancing over here in Northern AZ Thanks for bringing this to our attention!
Can anyone with more experience fill me in...does this mean we need to obtain a food handlers license, become an actual licensed business...etc??
You will need to get a food handlers card. That is stated right in the rules. You do not need to have a business license. They will be setting up an online registry for anyone who wishes to bake and sell from home. I have no idea how they'd enforce this though.
Here is the link to that info:
http://www.azleg.gov//FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/50leg/1r/adopted/2103barto1125.doc.htm&Session_ID=102
This law will not be enforced by the Health Dept and there will be no inspections according to the Dept of Health Services director.
KimAZ
" You do not need to have a business license. "
I think you just might need a business license in some areas! check with your city to see....I know here everyone engaged in any business HAS to have a city license, and you will also need a state tax number since you have to pay sales tax on every sale....you can either add it to your price or pay it yourself, but the state wants their money!
In my case, I will no longer pay the HD $250/year for my permit for which I get 'inspected' periodically.....they once went 2 1/2 YEARS between inspections and the permit cost kept going up because it had to cover the 'expense' of these inspections! [ soooo, I paid more than $500 for a 5 minuet inspection? ya right! ] Before this bill came up, I was seriously considering retiring.... but I love to learn new things and being able to sell these 'new ideas' pays for Cake Camp! And since I have my 'business' at my home [ in my guest house for more than 10 years now ] I can always be 'booked' if I want some me time....the biggest advantage of not having a store front where you have to keep somewhat reasonable hours!
Where are you supposed to register, does anyone know?
Here is a link to an article that was published in the Arizona Republic on April 14th regarding the governor signing HB 2103.
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2011/04/14/20110414xgr-roundup0414.html
Yahoooo!! 
KimAZ
OMG SWEEEEEETTT! Just called my county zoning director to see what she says, expecting a call back! I'll let you all know what she says.
YAYYYYYYY!!!!!! Thanks for all your research on the subject and for keeping us informed Kim!
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY GGGGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am shaking I am so excited. I DID NOT want to do an at home bakery illegal but I loved cakes I was at an impass!!! Now I can make cakes legally and make money for my family at the same time! Praise God alleluia!! Woot woot!!! P.S. I just found out tonight. I am pregnant and have been out of the loop for a while because of morning sickness so I had no clue this was even going on!!!
i spoke with the limited food manufacturing contact at the pima health department yesterday when i was getting my food sanitization certificate and she had vague knowledge of the cottage food bill that was signed. She pretty much said that people would still be subject to their county health department requirements, and it doesn't look like they have put too much time into developing guidelines from her information on it.
i spoke with the limited food manufacturing contact at the pima health department yesterday when i was getting my food sanitization certificate and she had vague knowledge of the cottage food bill that was signed. She pretty much said that people would still be subject to their county health department requirements, and it doesn't look like they have put too much time into developing guidelines from her information on it.
I had a suspicion that the Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal county health departments may not alter their food codes despite the state passing the law. We won't really know anything definitive until the individual county departments come out with official statements. I would suspect that that would be prior to the effective date in July, but with local goverment organizations, you never really know how quickly they are going to act.
I just moved to Arizona on May 11th, I am soooooooo excited! We werent allowed to do anything out of our homes in Nebraska where I moved from!!! I do cupcakes, and people constantly wanted to buy them, but I couldn't sell them! I just about started crying when I looked up Arizona in the forums and saw this!!!
Has anyone heard if Maricopa has revised their rules/regulations?
not that I know of at this moment, I have been trying to keep up with it.
I guess it will go into effect the 20th of this month, then we will know the full details.
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