Cottage food in Erie County follows New York's state Home Processor exemption under Ag & Markets Article 20-C, not a county rule. Registration is free and lets you sell certain non-hazardous baked goods, jams, and snacks made in your home kitchen.
New York regulates home food production through the Department of Agriculture and Markets Home Processor exemption under Article 20-C, a state program, not an Erie County one. Registration is free; you submit a Home Processor Registration form (plus a water-potability test if on a private well) to Ag & Markets. The exemption covers non-potentially-hazardous foods such as breads, cookies, cakes, muffins, brownies, high-acid fruit jams and jellies, and dry snacks like popcorn, granola, and pretzels. Prohibited items include anything needing refrigeration: cream or custard fillings, cheesecake, cream pies, buttercream frostings, cooked vegetables, meat, and tempered chocolate. Products may be sold within New York State at farmers markets, fairs, direct to consumers, and wholesale to local shops.
Selling refrigerated or otherwise prohibited home-processed foods, or operating without registering, voids the exemption and can bring enforcement by NY Ag & Markets, including orders to stop sales until a full Article 20-C license is obtained.
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See how Erie County's cottage food operations rules stack up against other locations.
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