Can I sell food out of my house Montana?

Posted by Damian Roberti on

Can I sell food out of my house Montana?

 

2015 marked the year that Montana passed its first cottage food law; however, that statute was almost entirely rewritten in 2021 when the Montana Local Food Choice Act was signed into law (SB 199).

This "food freedom" rule prohibits government entities from regulating a producer and lifts practically all limits placed on selling food that was prepared at home.

No license, permit, inspection, food safety training, or other such requirements are necessary for a producer to sell homemade food, and there is no cap on the amount of food that can be sold.

According to this regulation, there are four primary requirements that must be met in order to sell food goods that have been homemade:

 

 

 

Can I sell food out of my house Montana?


They are unable to hold any meat (see exception for poultry below). They can only be marketed within the state in a direct to consumer capacity (no sales through stores, restaurants, shipping, interstate, etc.). They can only be consumed in private settings, such as homes or specific occasions. It is the seller's responsibility to make sure the customer is aware that the product was created and is not regulated.

There is still a possibility of making use of Montana's cottage food law despite the presence of that third condition. This law could be used by a producer if their home-cooked food goods were consumed anywhere other than a private residence, a communal gathering, or an enterprise that specializes in food service.

This law also has provisions that are geared primarily toward certain categories of small farms. This rule makes it possible for someone who only produces a small number of chickens or turkeys to sell their birds or utilize the flesh from their birds in their products. According to this law, a person who operates a small dairy can sell milk or cream to customers.

Listing of Contents (Table of) Foods That May Be Offered For Sale Limitatio LabelingResourcesForum\sSelling Where can you sell the food that you've cooked at home?
Allowed Locations for Events Venues Farmers' markets, HomeOnlineRoadside stands
Services That Are Allowed
Delivery Home Pickup
Locations That Are Not Allowed
Restaurants Retail stores
Services That Are Not Allowed
wholesale through the mail
Your food goods can only be enjoyed in the comfort of one's own home or during a "typical community social occasion," such as a wedding, burial, church gathering, school function, potluck, etc. You might be permitted to sell your items under Montana's cottage food law if they would be consumed somewhere other than those venues or in a food service establishment. Customers need to be made aware that the products they purchase from you have not been licensed, permitted, certified, packaged, labeled, or inspected in accordance with any government regulations.





Can I sell food out of my house Montana?


Foods That Are Allowed What kinds of edible items can you sell from the comfort of your own home? Bread Bagels Bis\sbread Brownies Cake s Cake pops Cakes Cookies Crepes Cupcakes Donuts Ma baked goods that expire quickly perishable baked goods PizzSweet bread Scones Sweet bre Wedding llas Waffles Weddi Buttercream dy Brittles Buttercream Candies made of cotton g Chocolate Candied cotton candy Fudge Lollipops Truffles
Nut condiments Honey Ketchup Mustards Nut butters Oil
Icks that are dry Salsa
Arabica Coffee Beans Dried fruit Dried goods Cereals Coffee Pasta noodle Ingredients for flavors and spices Leaves of tea and other carbonated beverages Seasonings and foods that have been fermented Frozen produce extracts that have been cooked in a hard boil The foods that have been fermented. Frozen produce Hard-b
Other eggs in their entirety Juices Pastries 
Empanadas from Denmark with Acidified es OthFruit butters Jellies and conserves tinned meals with a low acid content Apples and other kinds of chutneys Fruit butters

 

 

Can I sell food out of my house Montana?

Can I sell food out of my house Montana?


Apples covered in candy Caramel corn Fruit that has been coated with chocolate confections enrobed in chocolate The snack foods crackers and pretzels Fruit tanned in leather Granola Kettle vered fruit Choc Kernels and nut foods Popcorn Chips made from vegetables
Foods That Are Not Allowed
Meat jerkies Pet chow and treats
There is a good chance that there are even more foods that are off limits, but the ones listed above have been verified.
You are allowed to sell any kind of food, even perishable food, with the following exceptions:
Anything that includes some form of meat,
There is one exception to this rule, and that is if you keep poultry and slaughter less than one thousand birds each year; in this case, you are allowed to sell both the chicken itself and the goods that are made from it. For instance, you could sell chicken pot pies if the chicken flesh in the pies came from your own birds. This is a must, however. It is not possible for you to purchase chicken meat from another source (like a store or another farm) and then utilize that chicken meat in your products. You are obligated to comply with the rules for record keeping that are outlined in 9 CFR 381.175.
What about the cream?

 

 

 

 

Can I sell food out of my house Montana?

Can I sell food out of my house Montana?


Exception: You are permitted to sell milk (or cream) from your animals if you run a small dairy, which means you do not have more than five lactating cows, ten lactating goats, ten lactating sheep, or ten other lactating hoofed mammals on your property. In addition, you must comply with the additional requirements outlined in Section 3, Subsection 8 of this law.
Get in touch with the Department of Livestock if you are interested in selling pet food or animal feed.
Limitations What restrictions will you place on your homemade food business?
Limitations
Kitchens used for commercial purposes are not allowed. Only retails via direct contact. It is illegal to make sales over state lines.
It's possible that there are further restrictions, but the ones listed above have been verified.


There is no cap on the number of sales.
Labeling How should items involving cottage food be labelled?

Even if there are no particular labeling requirements, you are required to inform buyers that your items have not been licensed, permitted, certified, packaged, or labeled in accordance with any government standards. This is the case even though there are no specific labeling requirements.

 

Can I sell food out of my house Montana