August 11, 2012 - 10:37am
WA Cottage Food Act - Anyone doing it?
Pretty much as the topic says. Washington state finally passed a Cottage Food Act, but it's a very long process with heavy restrictions. Regardless of this and the fact that the amount of money that can be made is small, I am considering going through with this, as I need another source of income. I will be potentially getting a pretty huge paycut in 4 months which would endanger my living situation.
I am curious if any WA goers have started the process, if you can tell me your experiences and so on. I really am looking for serious feedback, due to the reason stated above. I am interested in doing this for bread.
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I'm not doing it myself, but thanks to your question I learned about a similar law that is now before the governor, having passed the senate and assembly here in California - California Homemade Food Act, AB 1616. Looks like it passed the votes with great margins (unanamous in assembly). I wrote my letter in support and have asked others to join me. I probably won't be able to take advantage of it, but it seems like a well thought out bill. The bar is set quite low to take advantage of it, no huge fees etc. while still making reasonably sure folks know how to avoid poisoning their customers.
Please update us all on your experiences if you try it!
Thanks.
I saw that! It is a lot like WA's version, although we aren't allowed to do chocolate at all. It looks like WA's version is waaaaay more strict though. I read through it a bit to see how it compared. I hope it passes for California!
For family this is Going to be far easier and cheaper than the hoops and ladders. We have had with the Heath dept for very safe food products. Hang in and just know that it takes a really long time to make a decent product fly here. We have a TON of fantastic " cottage" competition ..where I spend my money!
Don't be discouraged, go for it...keep your overhead low and find a spot! Good luck!
Hi! I just posted information on the Aug. 30 amended version of the California bill, AB1616 in reply to Hank Gurdjieff. Here's that post: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/30008/cottage-food-acts-various-states-californias-homemade-food-act-awaiting-govs-signature-pl
If you're interested in the actual bill (8/30 amended version), it's here: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml
Good luck with your plans in WA!
Joy