Selling home-baked and other non-hazardous foods in Essex County requires a New Jersey Cottage Food Operator Permit from the NJ Department of Health under N.J.A.C. 8:24-11. The permit costs $100, lasts two years, and caps gross annual cottage food sales at $50,000. This is a statewide, not a county, program.
New Jersey legalized cottage food statewide in 2021 after the Heimlich v. NJDOH litigation, adopting N.J.A.C. 8:24-11. A person who prepares non-potentially-hazardous foods, such as baked goods, jams, and candies, in a home kitchen for sale to consumers must obtain a Cottage Food Operator Permit from the NJ Department of Health, or otherwise comply with retail food establishment rules. The application fee is $100 and the permit is valid two years. Operators must complete an approved food-protection training course. Gross annual sales of cottage food products may not exceed $50,000. Products must be labeled, and where the point of sale is not the operator's or consumer's residence, a placard must state the food was made in an uninspected home kitchen.
Selling cottage foods without the state permit, exceeding the $50,000 cap, or omitting the required labeling and placard violates N.J.A.C. 8:24-11 and can lead to enforcement action by the NJ Department of Health, including cease-and-desist orders.
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