By: Sarah Johnson
Ever had some homemade food so good you think someone should go into business selling it? I have. I have long told my mother she needs to start selling her delicious homemade granola she has spent years perfecting. One time, I made such a convincing argument, she looked into the logistics (mostly to appease me, I think). It was then we learned about the world of home baked goods and what licensing, permitting, and inspection requirements can look like for these entrepreneurs. This week, we’ll take a look at Oklahoma legislation, the Homemade Food Freedom Act.
What is homemade or “cottage food”?
Homemade or “cottage food” is made with appliances in one’s home to bake, cook, can, pickle, dry or candy “low-risk” foods. Essentially, this is food made not in an industrial kitchen or facility. Over the years, there has been a movement around the country to encourage states to pass “Food Freedom” legislation, expanding individuals’ abilities to make and sell these homemade or “cottage food” items. This type of food is usually defined as any shelf-stable food or perishable food other than meat, poultry, and seafood.
The Oklahoma Home Bakery Act of 2013
The Home Bakery Act was signed in April of 2013. This legislation allowed for individuals to produce and sell, from their homes, certain types of baked goods. “Home food establishment” was defined in the bill as “a business on the premises of a residence in which prepared food is created for sale or resale, for consumption off the premises.” The bill also defined “prepared food” as any baked goods except for products that contain meat products or fresh fruit. The legislation limited sales of food made by individuals to $20,000 per year and did not require these vendors to get a special state license or permit to sell their cottage food items.
Individuals interested in selling their goods were also required by these "cottage food laws" to affix a label containing the following information to their products stating:
- The name and address of the home food establishment
- The name of the prepared food
- The following statement printed in at least 10-point type in a color that provides a clear contrast to the background of the label: “Made in a home food establishment that is not licensed by the State Department of Health.”
Clarifying the Home Bakery Act of 2017
In 2017, Oklahoma passed SB508, which was an update to clarify the Home Bakery Act. The first thing this legislation did was amend the definition of “home food establishment.” The new definition increased the locations at which individuals could sell their items from just their homes to:
- Farmers markets
- On site, meaning an individual’s “primary residence”
- Cooperatives (like the Oklahoma Food Cooperative)
- Membership-based buying clubs (for example a local “Dessert of the Month Club”)
Farmers markets are defined by the Oklahoma State Department of Health as “a designated area in which farmers, growers or producers from a defined region gather on a regularly scheduled basis to sell at retail non-potentially hazardous farm food products and whole shell eggs to the public.” With this definition, gift shops, craft fairs, road-side stands, etc. were not included locations at which individuals could sell their cottage foods.
The bill also added a section stating, “The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry may, upon a consumer complaint, request written documentation to verify the gross annual sales of a home food establishment” – but the bill kept the annual limit at $20,000 per year.
Homemade Food Freedom Act
This year, the Homemade Food Freedom Act was signed in May. This legislation was the next step for Oklahoma to increase what has been coined as “food freedom”. This bill renamed the Home Bakery Act to the “Homemade Food Freedom Act”. It updated the definition of “Home food establishment” to mean “a business on the premises of a residence in which homemade products are created for sale or resale.” The bill also increased the gross annual sales limit of prepared food from $20,000 to $75,000 – stating “gross annual sales includes all sales of prepared food produced by the business at any location.”
“Homemade food product” is defined as “food, including a beverage, which is produced and, if packaged, packaged at a residence,” it goes on to say that “homemade food product shall not mean alcoholic beverages or unpasteurized milk or cannabis or marijuana products.”
The bill then opens up sale to in person and online, stating “Non-time- or -temperature-controlled-for-safety homemade food products shall be sold: a. by the producer directly to the consumer, either in person or by remote means, including, but not limited to, the Internet or telephone, or b. by a producer’s designated agent or a third-party vendor, such as a retail or grocery store, farm, farm stand, farmers market, membership-based buying club, craft fair or flea market, to the consumer.” Any third-party vendors must display a placard where homemade food products are displayed for sale with the following disclosure: “This product was produced in a private residence that is exempt from government licensing and inspection. This product may contain allergens.” Any time- or temperature-controlled-for-safety homemade food products must be delivered by the producer directly to the consumer.
The bill also exempts Beekeepers with annual production of less than five hundred (500) gallons from regulation and inspection by the State Department of Health for the manufacture, sale, and distribution of honey and honeycomb products in Oklahoma if outlined requirements are met.
Other “Food Freedom” legislation
Many states have introduced legislation using the term “food freedom,” meaning freedom from state food safety oversight for cottage foods. To see what legislation has been proposed around the United States relating to “food freedom” and “cottage food”, check out this stakeholder page or use Mobile Access Code: ODZQZR on the BillTrack50 mobile app. Below is an overview of some of the most recent legislation.
Arkansas signed legislation in April to create their own Food Freedom Act, exempting homemade food or drink products from licensure, certification, and inspection requirements. Minnesota and Florida proposed legislation that would preempt local food safety ordinances from being applied to homemade food sellers.
Tennessee’s bill seeks to “recognize the right of individuals to produce, procure, and consume homemade foods of their choice free from unnecessary and anticompetitive regulations.” A passed Wyoming bill added eggs in the their food freedom exemptions.
Indiana and Missouri proposed bills to allow for cottage foods to be sold via the internet and delivered by a third party to the end consumer. A signed Montana bill would exempt certain homemade food producers from food licensure, permitting, certification, packaging, labeling, and inspection regulations along with allowing for the sale of raw milk and suspending the state’s meat inspection program. West Virginia’s Farm Fresh Dairy Act would have allowed for the sale and consumption of homemade and farm fresh raw milk and raw milk products. The bill encouraged the expansion of raw milk dairy sales by small farm producers and accessibility of their products to informed end consumers.
Utah and Washington put forth legislation that requires the Department of Health to create sanitation, equipment, and maintenance guidelines for “microenterprise home kitchens.”
Cover Photo by Chloe Frost-Smith on Unsplash
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