Cottage Food Operations

The Department of Environmental Health and Quality (DEHQ) has recently implemented operational changes to our Cottage Food Program.  These changes were made to help maintain low registration/permit fees and to further streamline the application review process for potential operators.  New applicants are required to submit at least one product label for each food category sold and the initial fee includes the review of up to ten (10) product labels.  Once a registration or permit is issued, operators can add products throughout the year without prior product label review by DEH.  For those vendors who wish to ensure that all of their product labels meet the Cottage Food Labeling Requirements, DEHQ will review product labels beyond the initial ten (10) labels or as new product labels are added throughout the year to verify product labels meet the labeling requirements.  The fee for this optional label review of any labels beyond the initial ten (10) labels will be assessed at our current hourly rate, available in ½ hour increments. 

Cottage food operators must ensure that all of the products they are selling are on the Cottage Food Operations (Approved Food List) as maintained by the California Department of Public Health, and meet the labeling requirements for all products beyond those reviewed by DEH.  Additional fees will apply for investigation of valid complaints and re-inspections related to improperly labeled products or unapproved products offered for sale.

All cottage food operators will have to meet specified requirements pursuant to the California Health & Safety Code related to preparing foods that are on the approved food list. A food processor training course must be completed within three months of approval of the cottage food operation (CFO). The CFO must implement sanitary conditions, maintain food labels in accordance with federal and state regulations and comply with established gross annual sales limits.

Additional information from the California Department of Public Health may be found here.