Cool Tip: Local (Artisanal) Food Gets Easier...

California recently joined 32 other states in promoting community-based food production, sometimes referred to as “cottage food,” “artisanal food,” “slow food,” “locally based food,” or “urban agriculture” movements. These laws allow small business entrepreneurs to use their home kitchens to prepare, for sale, foods that are not potentially hazardous.

AB1616 - the California Homemade Food Act - clears the way for home cooks in California to make and sell a wide range of products without the need to invest in commercial kitchen space or to comply with the zoning and regulatory measures that govern larger producers and producers of meat and dairy products specifically omitted from this law.

The California legislature recognized that small businesses have played an important role in economic recovery and job creation, and that zoning and food safety regulations create major barriers to entry for small businesses. This law seeks to lower those barriers. Of course, there are some limitations in the law, and there are compliance requirements. And the law will not go into effect until January 2013.

But as Fall descends, we can look forward to next summer, with its new harvest, and a new, larger selection of Homemade Foods, available online, or at that Farmers’ Market near you! Enjoy!

Thanks to
Lisa Gansky  for the headsup!

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