Oklahoma Cottage Food Laws and Regulations: How to sell your homemade foods in Oklahoma

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Oklahoma Cottage Food Laws and Regulations: How to sell your homemade foods in Oklahoma

Oklahoma Cottage Food Laws, Regulations and Facts

Date of the enactment of the Oklahoma cottage food law: The Home Bakery Act of 2013 became effective November 1, 2013. The New OK Home Baking Act was passed in October 2017. As of Nov. 1, 2017, home-baked bakery items can be sold off-premises in selected locations.

Bill number 1094 (the Home Bakery Act of 2013) allows Home Food Establishments to prepare and sell any baked goods except for products that contain meat products or fresh fruit. Annual sales are limited to 20,000 USD per year. In 2017, Senate Bill No. 508  allows, as of Nov. 1, 2017, for home-baked bakery items can be sold off-premises in selected locations. "Prepared foods" can be made for sale or resale from this "home food establishment." Oklahoma allows beekeepers to sell honey. The  "Oklahoma Honey Sales Act" (SB 716) went into effect in 2013.

Which foods are subject to the Oklahoma Cottage Food law?

Only food products that are non-potentially hazardous fall into the cottage food category. The regulation lists the food items approved as cottage food products.

• baked goods, see prepared foods definition below.

Nothing else other than baked goods is an allowable cottage food in Oklahoma - that means NO jams, jellies, pickles, salsa, etc.

If your food product does not meet the definition of a Cottage Food:

Don't give up. You may still be able to make and sell it commercially, through a startup approach.

First, you may be able to rent space in a local licensed commercial kitchen.

Second, if that doesn't work, you may be able to get a co-packer to make the food for you.

See this page for detailed information about selling foods that do not meet the Cottage Food definition

Definitions:

• "home food establishment."- Under the amendment, one's primary residence (not just a building on one's property) becomes a non-inspected, "home food establishment."
•  "Prepared foods" are intended to be bakery goods such as breads, pies, scones, cookies, cakes, brownies, bagels, donuts, tortillas, muffins, tarts, granola, etc.
•  "Prepared foods" are not allowed to contain meat or fresh fruit.
•  "Meat" is commonly considered to be a foodstuff, derived from an animal. The common definition of "meat" includes beef, pork, lamb, poultry, fish, other seafood and game animals such as rabbit and venison.
•  "Fresh fruit" is any fruit, homegrown or store purchased that has not been further processed by commercial methods. Botanically, fruits are seed-bearing structures, developing from the ovary of a flowering plant. Vegetables would be all other plant parts such as roots, leaves and stems. Commercial methods of fruit processing are considered to be canning, drying or freezing, as conducted by inspected and licensed food manufacturer(s). Home canning or freezing of store-purchased or homegrown fruit would not qualify as "commercial" methods.

Labeling requirements

Cottage Food Production Operations must label all of their food products properly, which include the following information on the label of each unit of food product offered or distributed for sale:

 Any "prepared food" sold by a "home food establishment" must have a label affixed, when possible, to the product containing the following information:

• Name and address of the home food establishment;
• Name of prepared item;
• The statement: "Made in a home food establishment that is not licensed by the State Department of Health" in at least a 10-point font, in a color that provides clear contrast to the background of the label.

 If a label is not easily affixed to the packaging of the bakery item, a free-standing label may be placed by the product or placed on the receipt.

Where may Cottage Food Production Operations sell the food products?

 Sales (or resale) of "prepared foods" can occur at the following venues:

• Farmers markets - According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, a "farmers market is defined as a designated area in which farmers, growers or producers from a defined region gather on a regularly scheduled basis to sell at retail non-potentially hazardous farm food products and whole shell eggs to the public. A portion of the raw food ingredients used by the individual vendor to produce a product must have been grown or raised by the vendor. 
  Note: If a home food establishment plans to sell at a farmers market, they must obtain a "Sales Tax Permit." These are required at farmers markets.
• On site (at the home where it is made);
• By phone and internet with delivery occurring ONLY within the state of Oklahoma;
• Cooperatives (such as the Oklahoma Food Cooperative);
• Membership-based buying clubs (for example a local "Dessert of the Month Club").

Allowed sales locations do not include sales at retail and grocery stores, restaurants, bed and breakfasts, or wholesalers;

 

Other requirements

• Total annual sales: Home bakeries may mot exceed $20,000 (gross) in annual sales.  If you do exceed it, you become subject to the full retail food business requirements.
• Sales tax must be collected on all foods sold.
• Fruit-containing pies, cakes, scones, etc. are allowed only if they are baked at traditional temperatures and times. What is not allowed is, for example, "fresh" pineapple slices placed on an already "baked" pineapple cake.
• Baked goods with meat are not allowed, and products cannot have fresh fruit added after baking.
• Must be prepared in the kitchen of a private home for commercial purposes,
• License - Home food processors selling baked goods that meet the requirements do not require a license; other Individual vendors wishing to process food, as defined by Oklahoma Good Manufacturing Practices regulations (Chapter 260), must obtain a state food processor's license.
• Must be packaged with a label that clearly states
  • the address and contact information of the maker,  and
  • lists all of the ingredients in the product, and.
  • discloses that the product was prepared in a home;
• Prohibited foods include foods that requires time/temperature control for safety to limit pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation, including but not limited to,
  • refrigerated or frozen products,
  • low-acid canned foods,
  • dairy products,
  • seafood products and
  • bottled water,
• No sales to Retail shops, restaurants, stores, etc. - No retail operations may use foods from home bakerts in their businesses. Reference:
  310:257-5-2. Compliance with food law
  (a) Food shall be obtained from sources that comply with this Chapter.
  (b) Food prepared in a private home shall not be used or offered for human consumption in a food establishment

Recommendations:

Beyond the requirements, common sense, good practices and reducing liability suggests you should do the following.

Training

Take the ServSafe® training classes for Manager and employees, the 7th Edition Book that accompanies this course should be purchased here.. 

Testing of pH

​It's best to use a pH meter, properly calibrated on the day used. I use this one, which is reliable and inexpensive. And this pH meter is really good, but isn't always available.
Short-range paper pH test strips, commonly known as litmus paper, may be used instead, if the product normally has a pH of 4.0 or lower and the paper's range includes a pH of 4.6.

Record-keeping is suggested

Keep a written record of every batch of product made for sale, including:

• ​Recipe, including procedures and ingredients
• Amount canned and sold
• Baking or Canning date
• Sale dates and locations
• Gross sales receipts
• Results of any pH test

Sanitation

Although inspections are not required, you should consider doing the following:

• ​Use clean equipment that has been effectively sanitized prior to use
• Clean work surfaces and then sanitize with bleach water before and after use
• Keep ingredients separate from other unprocessed foods
• Keep household pets out of the work area
• Keep walls and floors clean
• Have adequate lighting
• Keep window and door screens in good repair to keep insects out
• Wash hands frequently while working
• Consider annual testing of water if using a private well

Best Practices

• Allergens:  Most state home baking acts require an "ingredient statement" and/or an "allergen listing" on the label of the bakery item for sale; but if your state does not, you should anyway. The eight major food allergens are
  • milk,
  • eggs,
  • fish,
  • crustacean shellfish,
  • tree nuts,
  • peanuts,
  • wheat and
  • soybean.
• Cross-allergenicity: There are also ingredients available, even flours, that can cause a cross-allergenicity. The American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology explains cross-allergenicity as an allergic reaction when proteins in one substance are similar to the proteins found in another substance. For example, consumption of lupine flour may trigger an allergic reaction to peanuts, and cricket flour may trigger an allergic reaction to shellfish. Again, providing such information might be a beneficial marketing tool and help keep potential consumers safe.
• The 2 Hour/4 Hour Rule -  Anyone wishing to make and sell refrigerated bakery items should remember to follow the "2 Hour/4 Hour Rule." This is a system that can be implemented when potentially hazardous foods are out of temperature control (temperatures greater than 45 degrees Fahrenheit) during preparation, serving or display for sale. The rule guidelines are as follows:
  • If a potentially hazardous food has been out of temperature control for 2 hours or less, then it may continue to be used or be placed back in the refrigerator.
  • If a potentially hazardous food has been out of temperature control for more than 2 hours but less than 4 hours, it needs to be used quickly or discarded.
  • If a potentially hazardous food has been out of temperature control for more than 4 hours, it must be discarded.

More resources:

• Link to the House Bill 1094

• The New OK Home Baking Act of 2017, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Fact Sheets,
• "Are You Storing Food Safely?, FDA,m 2014. Retrieved 12, August 2017.
• Cross Reactivity.  American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology.Retrieved, 15 October 2017.
• "Farmers Market Guidelines." .Oklahoma State Department of Health Retrieved 14, October 2017.
• "Home Baking Act of 2013."  ,LegiScan. 2017. Retrieved 10, July 2017.
• "Home Baking Act."  ,Tulsa-health.org. Oklahoma Department of Health. 2013. Retrieved 14, October 2017.
• "To refrigerate pumpkin pie - or not?"  , Waitrovich, Beth., Michigan State University. 2013. Retrieved 15, October 2017.

Questions? Contact Information:

Oklahoma State Department of Health at (405) 271-5243.