California does not have a cottage food law. It means if you bake a bread at home and sell it to the public in California, you are breaking the law. In order to sell your food legally, you must make it in a commercial kitchen.

Last year, Mark Stambler, co-founder of the Los Angeles Bread Bakers (LABB), had a trouble with the Los Angeles Department of Environmental Health for selling his homemade bread. Assemblyman Mike Gatto read about Stambler's struggles and called Stambler to provide help. On Feb 8, Gatto introduced a cottage food bill (AB 1616) in the California State Assembly, bringing California one step closer to join a growing number of other states with similar types of cottage food laws. If AB1616 is passed, it would allow small food businesses to operate in private home and produce non-potentially hazardous goods.

The definition of cottage food in the California Homemade Food Act (AB 1616) includes "baked goods, jams, jellies, fruit butters, preserves, pickles with a pH level of 4.6 or below when measured at 75 degrees Fahrenheit, candy, granola, dry cereals, pop corns, nut mixes, dried fruit, chocolate covered nonperishable nuts and dried fruit, dry baking mixes, roasted coffees, dry teas, honey."

According to the bill, requirements are set for sanitation and labeling. Home bakers should keep surfaces and utensils sanitized and wash their hands. When having a contagious illness, they should not work in the home kitchen. Home bakers would be required to include a sticker with all of the ingredients and the home address of the baker as well.

The bill also addresses the potential zoning violations allowing a commercial activity in a residential zone.

The California legislative information website specifies that AB 1616 may be heard in committee on March10.