Florida's cottage food law (FS 500.80) lets residents make and sell certain non-hazardous foods from their home kitchen without a permit or inspection, as long as annual gross sales stay at or below $250,000.
Under FS 500.80, a cottage food operation is exempt from state permitting and inspection if it complies with the statute and has annual gross sales of cottage food products not exceeding $250,000. Products must be non-time/temperature-control-for-safety foods (breads, cakes, cookies, jams, dry mixes, honey, and similar), sold prepackaged with a required label listing the maker, address, ingredients, allergens, and a statement that the product is made in a home kitchen not inspected by the state. Sales are direct to consumers, including online, by mail, or at events - wholesale is prohibited. A local government may not prohibit a cottage food operation, so unincorporated Sarasota County cannot ban it.
Selling adulterated or mislabeled products, exceeding the sales cap, or selling wholesale removes the exemption and subjects the operation to full FDACS permitting and enforcement.
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