Cottage Food

Cottage Food: Opportunities and lessons learned from 5 years of cottage food operation in Montana

AERO is working with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services- Food & Consumer Safety Section on a project to improve cottage food law understanding for producers and registered sanitarians across the state, and to assemble a working group to draft changes to the administrative rule for the cottage food exemption.

Registered cottage food operators, curious local food producers, sanitarians- registered and in training, joined us Tuesday, January 26 9am-2:30pm for a cottage food training.

Workshop Agenda & Contact Information

Workshop Recording 4:36

Packaging: Alternatives to Petroleum-based Plastics

Heidi Drivdahl-Noyes, Chief EcoManiac, EcoMontana
Karl Johnson, Owner & Operator, YES Compost
Heather Babineau-Z, Owner & Operator, Whole and Nourished

Warehouse Tour, Presentations & Discussion Recording 1:01

Composter's Perspective Slides

Profile of a Zero Waste Farmers Market

An interview with Gretchen Boyer, Executive Director of FarmHands Nourish and member of the Whitefish Farmers Market Organizing Committee who led the effort for Whitefish’s first zero-waste market season in 2020.

Learn more about greenwashing and what can be composted from Montana composting companies that offer commercial services to close the loop on compostable products:

Happy Trash Can FAQs

YES! Compost: Compost Basics

Dirt Rich

Cottage Food Virtual Toolkit

Develop skills and gain knowledge that will set up your cottage food business for success. Continue to access cottage food resources after the workshop with our virtual toolkit. Recordings of workshop modules will be posted, along with any handouts.

MT DPHHS – Food & Consumer Safety Section

Cottage Food Page

Find: Link to Cottage Food Statute
Cottage Food Application
FAQs on Cottage Food & Honey

Find your county sanitarian’s office contact information

Cottage Food Frequently Asked Questions

Montana’s Food Laws & Rules: Cottage food & farmers’ markets

Workshop Presentation Slides by Nina Heinzinger, PhD, RS/REHS, Public Health Sanitarian, Food & Consumer Safety Section

Recording 56:25

Montana’s Food Laws & Rules Slides

List of Allowable/Approved Cottage Foods

Question
What ingredients are allowed in regular food?

Answer
Ingredients allowed in human food nearly always fall into one of the following categories*
1. Conventional food
2. Approved additives
3. Generally recognized as safe (GRAS).

Allowable ingredients in Cottage Food Recipes

Frequently Asked Questions About
GRAS for Substances Intended for
Use in Human or Animal Food: Guidance for Industry

FAQs

All foods sold under the Texas Cottage Food Law must not require time or temperature control for safety (TCS), therefore the recipes sold here would qualify in Montana.

MT Cottage Food Business: How this all got started by Jan Tusick

Recording 44:47

MT Cottage Food Business Slides

Checklist for Cottage Food Labeling Requirements

Home Kitchen Food Safety for Cottage Food Operators

MT Cottage Food and Farmers’ Market Regulations

Getting Started

Are you interested in starting a food business?

Montana's Food & Ag Development Centers

The network of 8 centers provides training, coaching and technical assistance, including:

Product development, testing and analysis
Regulatory compliance training
Food processing
Business planning and development
Market research
Business networking
Access to financing
Cooperative development
Education on industry dynamics and technologies

Abundant Montana: Connecting you with Montana Food

Whether you are searching for local food ingredients for your products or getting the word out about your Montana food business, Abundant Montana would love to add you to our growing food system directory of over 330 listings.

Contact [email protected] to reach an Abundant Montana Outreach Coordinator to create your listing today