You Can Sell A Few Cookies In Washington State
The creep of government goes on -- and on and on -- and what is absurd starts to seem normal to many people. One of the absurdities is that you can generally give away cookies you bake but you can't trade them for money. You can only do that if you bake them in a commercial kitchen. But, that's changing just a little in Washington State. Matthew Yglesias writes on Slate:
A recently passed Cottage Food Act that will come into effect this summer will give the blessing to "small, home-based entrepreneurs looking to sell cakes, cookies, jams, jellies and other so-called 'low-risk' foods."It'll be interesting to keep an eye on this. Will the state's jam-eaters be stricken with waves of illness? Or is going to turn out that people eat food cooked at home all the time, and it'll basically all be fine? Absent the terrible economy this probably wouldn't be a big deal one way or another, but with things being what they are these kind of barriers to gainful employment matter a fair amount.
Ridiculously, the government still has its grubby hands in things, per Melissa Allison's piece in the Seattle Times that Yglesias links to in his piece (Former Banker posted his comment before I finished the blog item):
More than 250 home-based businesses have shown interest in applying for a cottage-foods license, according to the Washington state Department of Agriculture, which administers the new law. It estimates 1,000 people eventually will apply.The department is accepting public comments on a draft rule related to the cottage-foods law until Tuesday.
"When we first started working on it, there were 16 states with similar proposals adopted or in the works," said Kirk Robinson, assistant director of the food-safety and consumer-services division of the Department of Agriculture. "It seems to be a growing movement the last few years. Maybe the down economy has something to do with it, people looking for additional sources of income."
The draft rule stipulates which foods may be produced -- among them breads, cakes, cookies, granola, nuts, jams and jellies.
It also requires annual inspections by the Department of Agriculture, which will ensure that surfaces and floors be smooth and easy to clean and that pets and children under 6 years old are kept out of the kitchen while food is prepared.
The home kitchens do not need the stainless countertops or three sinks required of commercial kitchens. And home cooks cannot sell by mail order or over the Internet. They are limited to selling products directly to consumers -- from their homes, for example, or at farmers markets.
The new law also limits the revenue someone can make from a home kitchen to $15,000 a year.
Felicia Hill, a cake baker and decorator in Vancouver, Wash., who lobbied for the new law and helped advise the Department of Agriculture in drafting its rule, said the $15,000 limit is better than the $5,000 originally proposed in the Legislature.
The limit exists because the Cottage Food Act is meant to give home cooks a boost in starting a business without the burden of high overhead.
Have you ever gotten sick because you ate a brownie at a bake sale? Do you know anyone who has? People who bake or sell jam are often moms. Do you hear of many -- or any -- neighborhood children dying of food-borne illnesses from eating a snack at the neighbor's?
The kitchen still has to be inspected and meet some standard. Basically it is saying that your home kitchen can be a commercial kitchen as well just with a some what lesser standard.
The Former Banker at May 22, 2012 11:48 PM
Isn't this a step in the right direction? From not being allowed to sell cookies to being allowed to sell them?
NicoleK at May 23, 2012 4:32 AM
I think it's a good start, but $15,000 is too low. Why should there be any limit? CA will never pass this.
KateC at May 23, 2012 7:01 AM
Do you want to wait for someone to fall sick because of eating a brownie at a bake sale? Remember, a long time back, there were no standards and people were falling sick and that is why standards came in the first place and that is why inspections etc started happening so that things are controlled before any outbreak happens. And given the way the sue happy people and courts of this country behave, everyone needs some regulations just to make sure that they do not get sued in the first place.
If there were no regulations, even the welfare mommas with thirty kids running around in the house of their guy(in your earlier post of the tennessee guy) would be baking cookies while their kids are running all over the kitchen and making a complete mess of it with their shenanigans while the cookie dough is being prepared. I certainly would not want to eat cookies made in such a place and even if there are no regulations, there should at least be some disclosure telling me about it so I can make a conscious choice. But such disclosure would be so lengthy and painful that people would just be confused. So regulation is the better thing in that case.
Redrajesh at May 23, 2012 9:37 AM
Do you want to wait for someone to fall sick because of eating a brownie at a bake sale?
I don't even like waiting at traffic lights, why would I want to wait for that?
I'd like to be allowed to sell my beer to the bar down the hill.
Steve Daniels at May 23, 2012 9:57 AM
Every damn year I go through the same thing:
1. Start my Christmas confectionery making.
2. Think "I forgot how much I like making marshmallows. It's not that hard and everyone loves them. Maybe I could make some extra pocket money by selling."
3. Check out what it would take to sell marshmallows.
4. Quickly change my mind about selling them.
5. Forget what I learned and repeat the cycle next Christmas.
"even the welfare mommas with thirty kids...would be baking cookies"
No they would not.
Do you see them crafting necklaces to sell on Etsy? Do you see them designing and selling clothing? Anyone with some wire can learn to make and sell jewelry. Less than a hundred bucks can get you a sewing machine and you can start making clothes.
The ROI on baking is not high. After the ingredients and packaging are paid for it still takes a lot of time and effort. Add to that the effort it takes to market and distribute the goods, even when they're high quality, book balancing and tax-paying and it can quickly turn into a full time job. At which point they would cease to be shiftless "wlefare mommas."
People who don't have the drive to start their own business creating something now aren't going to have the drive just because regulations in another field are relaxed.
Elle at May 23, 2012 10:27 AM
I have bought tamales from people going door-to-door in my apartment complex. Never got sick off of those.
I have however on occasion gotten food poisoning from restaurant food. I only eat at places with an A rating, so that's not it.
You can get food borne illness from anyplace, any time. Unless you've grown and made the food yourself, you're always exposing yourself to quite a bit of risk.
Crawl into a plastic bubble if you don't want to take any chances.
Dragonhawk at May 23, 2012 10:45 AM
"Have you ever gotten sick because you ate a brownie at a bake sale? "
Well it wasn't from a bake sale and I wouldn't exactly call it sick ;)
smurfy at May 23, 2012 11:59 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/05/23/you_can_sell_a.html#comment-3201381">comment from smurfyHah, smurf. And frankly, kitchens that are inspected by the health dept and pass have all sorts of buggies and such in them. We've all eaten cockroach legs repeatedly. Just try not to think about it -- not that this comment has helped.
Amy Alkon
at May 23, 2012 12:59 PM
I used to buy tamales from hispanic ladies in front of stores when I lived in AZ. Never got sick.
I always buy a cup of lemonade or a snack from kids at yard sales, although I stopped drinking what I bought after watching one toddler plunge her dirty, snot-covered hand into the jar while mom smiled proudly and never blinked as she handed me the cup.
I live in WA State now, and a few years back a dive bar was cited during Thanksgiving. For years, the owner had coordinated a potluck Thanksgiving for his employees and customers. People who attended were on limited incomes and either had no family or no family nearby. Whatever Department does the citing shut this annual activity down because the bar wasn't approved to serve food. I thought it was sad and really unnecessary. There were a lot of disappointed people.
Meloni at May 23, 2012 1:02 PM
Baked goods are the safest foods in existence. Brownies, cakes, and bread are baked to 180 F at least. They are bacteria-free. If they aren't cut on a raw-chicken cutting board, they are safe. The government doesn't consider the joys of a free existence, only safety at all costs, and increased profits to unionized food manufacturers.
If you want the joy of a free existence, then you have to vote out your state legislators, and keep doing it until they change the laws and their approach to life. Your personal happiness will never be a part of any government plan.
Andrew_M_Garland at May 23, 2012 1:03 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2012/05/23/you_can_sell_a.html#comment-3201437">comment from Andrew_M_GarlandThe government doesn't consider the joys of a free existence, only safety at all costs,
The choice should be ours to make, whether we want the government stamp of approval on food we eat. Those who wish to pay to get it should get some sort of stamp on their food. I'll take my chances with the protections of the free market. If you make people sick, word will get out and your food will not sell.
Amy Alkon
at May 23, 2012 1:08 PM
Oh and I remember this wonderful diner that made the BEST garlic butter. It was a '50 style set-up, and the owner was surly and put up with zero bullshit, but she made great food, she was fast, and she appreciated her customers. She was funny too.
She finally sold the joint because she was so fed up with the health department's requirements. She got dinged for the garlic butter, for example, because it wasn't cold enough.
The place is still a diner, and the people are nice, but it's just not the same. And it's irritating to me that a really successful business just quit because of too much government interference.
Meloni at May 23, 2012 1:16 PM
Oh and it's not like her place was dirty. It was a small restaurant, with a counter that surrounds the cooking area and that's it. You watched her cook, you watched her clean, etc. The place was immaculate. Just not enough for the department's regulations.
Meloni at May 23, 2012 1:18 PM
Back in the mid 80's I worked as a dishwasher/slow cook in a small restaurant in eastern PA. (The best way to describe it is the diner in Legion w/o the angels visiting.)
They would boil half a 50# bag of potatoes to be home fries. That would last about 3-4 days.
They saved the returned uneaten bread/buns from the customers and used that to make stuffing.
They made five gallon batches of brown gravy that they would use for 5-7 days.
In about 2 years of working for them, we never had anyone say anything about food poisoning. I told people I worked for the restaurant and no one ever really said anything bad about it.
So whenever I hear about the crap load of regulations they have to do now. I would never go into the food service industry on a dare.
Jim P. at May 23, 2012 8:30 PM
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