TRAVERSE CITY — A new state law will make it easier for kitchen magicians to get their homemade products into consumers' hands.
A Cottage Food Law approved in Lansing last week allows people to make and store certain foods in an unlicensed home kitchen, and sell that product directly to consumers at places like farmers markets, farm and roadside stands, and similar venues.
Foods covered under the law generally are non-hazardous items that don't require time or temperature controls to ensure safety. Such foods include breads, cakes, cookies, popcorn, fruit pies, dry herbs and mixtures, flavored vinegars, and jams and jellies that can be stored at room temperature.
The law does not extend to temperature-sensitive foods like meats, canned fruits or vegetables, milk and dairy products, fish, raw seed sprouts and pies that require refrigeration like custard or pumpkin pies.
Sales must be directly to consumers, and cottage foods can't be sold to retailers or restaurants, wholesalers or other food distributors. Cottage foods also can't be sold on the Internet or by mail order.
The new rules include specific labeling requirements that include the name and address of the cottage food operations, and a list of ingredients including allergen labeling spelled out in federal regulations. Labels must include a disclaimer that the food is made in a home kitchen not inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture.
Local public health officials said they're comfortable with the new regulations, since they deal with items not generally associated with food-borne illnesses.
"It's not a big change for us as far as the Health Department goes," said Tom Buss, director of environmental health for the Grand Traverse County Health Department. Buss said his office already has fielded a handful of calls about the new regulations.
Health Department Director Fred Keeslar said the cottage food law clears up some "gray areas" between state public health and agriculture departments and better defines the agencies' food oversight responsibilities. But Keeslar said consumers still should pay attention to their purchases to make sure they're buying safe products.
"I don't think anything is risk-free," Keeslar said.
Rob Bacigalupi of Traverse City's Downtown Development Authority expects the new law to increase activity at the DDA's Sara Hardy Downtown Farmers Market, both from farmers who already are vendors there and from small business people who cook in their homes.
"It's not easy to bring those products into the marketplace; this will help," Bacigalupi said. "It will open it up to more folks, and perhaps make it easier on the folks who are already there."
Previously, farm vendors were limited in their ability to sell prepared foods that didn't come from commercial food kitchens.
"It forced farmers to hook up with a commercial kitchen," Bacigalupi said. "There aren't that many commercial kitchens available to farmers."
State Rep. Dan Scripps, D-Leland, supported the cottage food law and has a link on his website that explains regulations and labeling requirements. Information is available at www.house.mi.gov/dscripps.
"It's important that we give our entrepreneurs the information they need to take their products to the local market and earn more money to support their families," Scripps said.
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