Illinois's Cottage Food and Home Kitchen Operations Act (Public Act 100-0580, amended by PA 102-0633) allows Oak Lawn residents to sell certain homemade shelf-stable foods directly to consumers without a commercial kitchen. Annual gross sales are capped at $75,000. Required labeling applies, and Oak Lawn home occupation rules still restrict signage and customer traffic.
Under Illinois's Cottage Food and Home Kitchen Operations Act, Oak Lawn residents may prepare and sell certain low-risk foods from their home kitchen. Approved products include baked goods without cream or meat fillings, jams, jellies, fruit butters, candy, dried herbs, roasted coffee, popcorn, and granola. Sales must be direct to consumers at farmers markets, from the home, or via direct delivery. The annual gross revenue cap is $75,000 for cottage food operations. All products must be labeled with the business name and address, ingredients in descending order by weight, allergen declarations, net weight, production date, and a statement that the product was produced in a home kitchen not subject to public health inspection. Registration with the Cook County Department of Public Health is required before selling. Oak Lawn's home occupation provisions still restrict signage and on-site customer traffic, so selling primarily through farmers markets or via delivery is preferable to on-premises sales.
Selling cottage foods without registration or outside approved product categories may result in enforcement by the Cook County Department of Public Health. Oak Lawn may separately enforce home occupation conditions if signage or customer traffic violates zoning rules. Penalties vary based on the violation and agency.
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