Cottage food permit: $35,000 cap, biennial WSDA permit, direct sales only

The gate is the product, not the paperwork. RCW 69.22.010(2) defines cottage food products as nonpotentially hazardous baked goods, baked candies and candies made on a stovetop, and jams, jellies, preserves and fruit butters as defined in 21 C.F.R. Sec. 150 as it existed on July 22, 2011, plus whatever else the director adds by rule. The same subsection bars any ingredient with a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of 0.3 percent or greater. WAC 16-149-120 fills in the approved list: loaf breads, celebration cakes including wedding cakes, cookies, crackers, granola, nut brittles, fudge, molded chocolates, rebottled flavored vinegars, and dry mixes recombined from approved sources. WAC 16-149-130 is the closed door: no jerky or any meat, poultry or fish product, no canned vegetables, salsas or pickles, no dairy of any kind, no cut fresh fruit or vegetables, no garlic in oil, no juices, no barbecue sauce, ketchup or mustard, no focaccia with vegetables or cheese, and no beverages. Custard and cream pies are out, and so is any frosting that is not either cooked or stable at room temperature through its sugar content.

The permit is product specific. WAC 16-149-040(3) allows you to produce only the items listed on your permit, and WAC 16-149-040(4) caps each application at 50 recipes, with a master or base recipe and its variations counted as one. Every recipe, every label, a diagram of the kitchen showing sinks, work surfaces, the primary toilet room and storage areas, and your proposed sale locations for the year all go in with the application under WAC 16-149-060. If pets live in the home you must file a pet control plan, and if children under six live there you must file a child control plan. A private well must pass a bacterial test within 60 days of application and again every year.

Sales are hand to hand. WAC 16-149-040(2) permits direct sales at farmers markets, craft fairs and charitable functions, requires a copy of the permit to be displayed at each of them, and prohibits shipping, mail order, consignment, wholesale and any sale outside Washington. A website may display the products, but the sale itself has to be completed in person. RCW 69.22.020(5) adds that cottage food products may be stored only in the primary domestic residence, so a rented storage unit or a garage in a separate building is out. "Domestic residence" under RCW 69.22.010(5) means a single-family dwelling or an area within a rental unit where a single person or family actually resides, and it expressly excludes group or communal residential settings and outbuildings, sheds and barns.

Everyone who touches the food needs a food and beverage service worker's permit under chapter 69.06 RCW, and RCW 69.22.030(2) makes proof of that part of the application. WAC 16-149-030(6) adds that the operator must complete a food safety training program before permitting, and WAC 16-149-030(4) requires compliance with county and municipal home-occupation and zoning rules plus a state master business license first. The annual inspection under RCW 69.22.040(2) checks that nobody other than the permittee or someone under the permittee's direct supervision is in the home kitchen during production, that no family meal preparation, dishwashing, laundry, kitchen cleaning or guest entertaining is happening at the same time, and that no infants, small children or pets are in the kitchen.

Every package carries a fixed label under RCW 69.22.020(3) and WAC 16-149-110: the business name and the permit number, the product name, ingredients in descending order by weight with subcomponents spelled out, net weight or volume, allergen information, and the sentence "Made in a Home Kitchen that has not been subject to standard inspection criteria." in at least 11-point type against a contrasting background.

090(1)(a). A second or later offense is a gross misdemeanor, with anything more than five years after a prior conviction treated as a first offense again. 090(2) lets the director impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation per day where the conduct has not been prosecuted, and each violation is a separate offense. 070 for failing to comply, failing to keep records, refusing access to the permitted area or the records, or exceeding the annual income limit, and it can summarily suspend where the operation is an immediate danger to public health.

060(3) authorizes the director to apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for a search warrant covering the permitted area. 050(3) refuses any refund of fees already paid, and WAC 16-149-040(1) requires the operator to stop for the remainder of the permit period or the calendar year. 07 RCW and from permitting and inspection by the local health jurisdiction.