Well, we Floridians now have a chance to bottle and sell our honey…LEGALLY!! The House and Senate have passed the bill and it remains with the Governor to sign the Bill to make it law.

It says that we little beekeepers do not have to spend big bucks to build a bottling room/building and buy a license/permit to be legal. The cottage foods act, which honey is now part of, will allow us to use our kitchens in our homes to process, what little we do, our honey for sell.

Now there are some restrictions that we have to follow:

1. We have to sell to the end consumer only. This means that we cannot sell to someone for resale. (No grocery stores, no consignment stores, no other beekeepers, no selling to packers, restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes, etc.)

2. We can sell from our homes, roadside stands, flea markets, farmers’ markets, fairs, and out of our vehicles.

3. We cannot hire any outside help to sell our goods. Must be immediate family only.

4. We can sell up to $15,000.00 gross retail. Anything over that puts us in the commercial group and new governing laws.

5. Now for the most hardest part of this whole thing to me is the labeling law. I want a label small enough to not cover the whole pint jar. Go to this address for the posted story:

CottageFoodAdvisoryAugust11Revised (2).pdf

Now the Government is strapped for $ $ $ so we don’t have to worry about them breathing down our necks. Make sure that you treat you customers right and you will have no complaints. Complaints are the most common reason for the food safety man to come around and talk to you. However, if you have a food related complaint against you for any reason, the inspectors will have to go to your home and inspect your facilities.

But, until that happens, just carry on, keep good financial records, and enjoy retail sales until you make  $1,5001.00. Then you will have to start thinking about going commercial which is another story and post.