Cottage food rules
Cottage Food Law Florida Coffee: What Home Bakers Need
How to check a coffee item against Florida's allowed foods list before you sell it.
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What to remember
- Florida’s cottage food rules live in Florida Statute 500.80 and are overseen by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).
- Florida’s cottage food law allows home based food makers to earn up to $250,000 per year in gross revenue.
- Anything that needs refrigeration to stay safe is a TCS food and is not allowed under the law.
- The law covers a list of 45+ allowed foods, so check your item against that list before you take an order.
If you bake with coffee, or sell a coffee cake, coffee cookies, or a coffee loaf, you are in the same spot as any other home baker in the state. The item has to be one the law allows. Cottage food law for baked goods walks through how the allowed list works for flour based items, and it is the right place to start before you build a menu around one flavor.
What the law covers, in plain terms
Florida’s cottage food rules live in Florida Statute 500.80 and are overseen by FDACS. Cottage food operators in Florida can produce and sell cottage food products directly to consumers without obtaining a food permit from the department. The law also allows home based food makers to earn up to $250,000 per year in gross revenue.
The list itself is the part that matters for a coffee item. Florida’s cottage food law covers a list of 45+ allowed foods, along with labeling rules and rules on where products may legally be sold. An item sells legally because it is on that list, not because it is homemade and not because someone else in town sells it.
Checking a coffee recipe against the list
Start with what the item actually is. A coffee cake, a coffee flavored cookie, a mocha brownie: each one is a baked good first, and the coffee is an ingredient inside it. Read the allowed list with your recipe in front of you and match the item, not the flavor name. If it is still not clear, ask FDACS directly before you take the order. Cottage food law approved frosting uses the same approach for another ingredient people ask about a lot.
Selling and delivering coffee items
Once an item is on the list, the law is generous about how you sell it. A cottage food operation may sell, offer for sale, and accept payment for cottage food products over the Internet or by mail order. Cottage food products may be delivered in person directly to the consumer, to a specific event venue, or by United States Postal Service or commercial mail delivery service.
Labeling is part of the deal too. The law pairs the allowed foods list with labeling rules and rules on where products may legally be sold, so read both before your first sale. If you are still at the beginning, Florida cottage food law application: what to know covers the paperwork side.
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One last habit worth building: write your recipe down exactly as you sell it, ingredients and all, and keep it with your notes. When the list or the rules around it change, you can check your own item in minutes instead of guessing, and you will know which of your bakes need a second look.
Common questions
Can I sell coffee itself under Florida's cottage food law?
The law works from a list of 45+ allowed foods, and anything that needs refrigeration to stay safe is a TCS food and is not allowed. Check that list against exactly what you plan to sell, and ask FDACS if the answer is not clear before you take orders.
Do I need a food permit to sell cottage food in Florida?
Cottage food operators can produce and sell cottage food products directly to consumers without obtaining a food permit from FDACS. Products that need refrigeration to stay safe fall outside the law and require a permitted commercial kitchen.
How much can I earn under Florida's cottage food law?
Florida's cottage food law allows home based food makers to earn up to $250,000 per year in gross revenue.
Can I sell coffee bakes online or ship them?
Yes. A cottage food operation may sell, offer for sale, and accept payment for cottage food products over the Internet or by mail order. Products may be delivered in person directly to the consumer, to a specific event venue, or by United States Postal Service or commercial mail delivery service.
Where are the Florida cottage food rules written?
Florida's cottage food rules live in Florida Statute 500.80 and are overseen by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Sources
General information, not legal advice. Rules can change. Confirm with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services before you sell.