Enjoy The Cake
Student Support Site
Enjoy The Cake
Owner:
Deb Gates
512-608-1614
Austin, TX
Governor Perry signed SB 81, which means Texas bakers will be able to LEGALLY operate from home as of 9/1/11.
How does that impact our future clients?
Read the following summary.
SB 81 by Senator Jane Nelson
House Sponsor: Representative Lois Kolkhorst
Signed into law by Governor Rick Perry on 6/17/2011.
Summary of sections 5 and 6 of the bill, which pertain to Cottage Food Operations.
- Food must be sold from your home, directly to another consumer. No sales at farmer's markets, wholesale, or resale to restaurants, grocery stores, coffee shops, etc.
- Foods are limited to non-potentially hazardous baked goods, canned jams, jellies, and dry spice mixes. THESE ARE THE ONLY FOODS ALLOWED. If you do not see it on this list, it's not allowed.
- Annual gross income from sales of above food items must be $50,000 or less.
- The local health department may not regulate these home cottage food operations, but they must maintain a record of any complaint made. This is a consumer safeguard, so that consumers can call the local health department and check for complaints on their "cake lady" before they purchase, if they wish.
- The food items sold must be labeled with the name and address of the cottage food production operation, and a statement that the food was made in a kitchen that has not been inspected by the health department. We are waiting for the Department of State Health Services to develop the specific rules for labeling. Per Representative Kolkhorst, the label does not have to be affixed directly to the food item, it can be handed to the customer.
- Food must not be sold through the internet. This simply means that these operations can't set up a shopping cart on your web site and let people purchase blindly. Our cottage food producers may still have a web site to promote their business. The "no internet sales" clause goes back to the fact that we ARE small "cottage" operations, and helps ensure that sales are local and face-to-face, which is in keeping with the spirit of the bill. Again, it does NOT mean that web sites are prohibited. Have a web site! Have a Facebook page! Just don't allow purchase and payment on the internet.
The above summary is courtesy of the great people at the
Texas Baker's Bill organization.
You can find them here.
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