San Diego County, CA Home Business: Cottage Food Operations (2026)

116 sits in Title 6, Division 1, Chapter 1 (Regulation of Retail Food Facilities and Food Handlers) and targets Cottage Food Operations, home kitchens registered to make non-potentially-hazardous foods like jams and baked goods for sale under state law (Health & Safety Code § 113758). Because the state Retail Food Code assumes a municipal water hookup, the County added its own rule for the many parcels that run on a private well. Before the Department of Environmental Health and Quality issues the initial CFO permit, an operator relying on a well must submit sample results proving the water meets at minimum a "Transient Non-Community Water System" standard defined in HSC § 116275(o).

The application-stage panel covers nitrate, nitrite, bicarbonate, carbonate and hydroxide alkalinity, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, pH, specific conductance, sodium, total hardness, and bacteriological water quality. That is not a one-time hurdle: every year the CFO permit comes up for renewal, the operator must resubmit updated nitrate, nitrite and bacteriological results showing the well still meets the standard. Operators served by a public water system that itself draws from groundwater are not exempt; they must document that their supply meets the same threshold. , pushcarts) alongside the home kitchen does not have those CMFO transactions counted against the CFO's state annual gross-sales ceiling under HSC § 113758, which caps a Class A cottage food business at $75,000 and a Class B business at $150,000 a year, both adjusted annually for inflation.

101 explains it implements the CRFC and applies county-wide because the Director also serves as environmental health officer for all 18 incorporated cities by agreement.