Montana lets you sell non-potentially-hazardous homemade foods without a food license. Under MCA 50-50-117 you must register your cottage food operation with the local health authority - RiverStone Health in Yellowstone County - and list your products. Sales must be direct to consumers.
Montana's cottage food law (MCA 50-50-116 and 50-50-117) exempts a cottage food operation from licensure and routine inspection. To qualify, the person in charge must register with the local health authority in the county where they reside - RiverStone Health for Yellowstone County residents - providing the operation name, residential address, ingredient sources, a complete list of products, and labels. Allowed foods are non-potentially-hazardous items such as baked goods, jams, candies, dried mixes, and high-acid pickles. Consignment sales, including through retail or wholesale establishments, are prohibited - sales must be direct to the consumer within Montana. Operators must follow department food standards, including applicable provisions of the 2013 FDA Food Code.
Selling potentially hazardous foods, skipping registration, or selling by consignment/wholesale removes the exemption and can subject the operation to licensing enforcement and complaint inspection.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Yellowstone County's cottage food operations rules stack up against other locations.
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