Looking for Montana Cottage Food Laws and Regulations: How to sell your homemade foods in Montana in 2024? Scroll down this page and follow the links. And if you bring home some fruit or vegetables and want to can, freeze, make jam, salsa or pickles, see this page for simple, reliable, illustrated canning, freezing or preserving directions . There are plenty of other related resources, click on the resources dropdown above. If you are having a hard time finding canning lids, I've used these, and they're a great price & ship in 2 days .
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Date of the enactment of HB 478 : October 1, 2015
Amended: SB 199 effective 4/30/2021
Most perishable (refrigerated) foods are now allowed and producers no longer need any
type of permit from the health or agriculture department.
A registered cottage food producer can sell the food they make from: direct to the consumer, online, farm markets, farm stands. Delivery must be in person (deliver to or customer picks up).
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 .
Cottage Food Production Operations must label all of their food products properly, which includes specified information on the label of each unit of food product offered or distributed for sale.
All processed packaged foods bear a label stating the
It is recommended that honey manufacturers/processors include this additional statement to their product label: "Honey is not recommended for infants less than twelve (12) months of age".
Here is a free Microsoft Word label template which you can download and edit . These labels are already formatted to fit on Avery Template 22820 Print-to-the-Edge Oval, Labels 2" x 3-1/3", 8 per Sheet, Glossy White. You can get the label stock online (see at right).
Depending on the size of your business, your label must comply with Federal label regulations and with the new nutritional labeling law. You can download a copy of the FDA Food Labeling Guide here it s an illustrated booklet that should answer all your questions. You may see that the sample label does not include a "nutritional panel" (calories, fat, protein, vitamins, etc.) . This is because if you sell (in the U.S. only) fewer than 10,000 units and hire fewer than 10 full-time employees yearly; you do not have to have a nutrition panel on your label, nor file a small business nutritional labeling exemption notice with the FDA.
Cottage Food Products may not be sold across state lines. In other words, only be sold within the state. They may be sold directly to the consumer from the home where the products are produced. They may also be sold through grocery stores, registered farm markets, church bake sales, schools, registered farmers markets, and sold and/or used in preparing food in a restaurant.
Beyond the requirements, common sense, good practices and reducing liability suggests you should do the following.
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.
Keep a written record of every batch of product made for sale, including:
Although inspections are not required, you should consider doing the following:
Water bath canner with a jar rack
Pressure canners for gas, electric and induction stoves: Presto 23Qt or T-fal 22Qt
Canning scoop (this one is PERFECT)
Get the
most recent version of
the Ball Blue Book
Get the
most recent version of
the Ball Blue Book of Home Canning
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