Prior to 2012, under the California Retail Food Code
(CRFC), food sold to consumers was required to be made at an
inspected commercial kitchen. When the California Homemade
Food Act, known as “Cottage Food Operations” was enacted in
2013, certain low-risk food products that do not require
refrigeration, such as bread, pie, fruit jam, and dried food,
could be made in private home kitchens, and sold to consumers
under limited conditions. New applicants are required
to submit at least one product label for each food category
sold. The initial fee includes the review of up to 10 product
labels. Once a registration or permit is issued, operators can
add products throughout the year without prior product label
review by the Department of Environmental Health and Quality
(DEHQ). For those vendors who wish to ensure that all of their
product labels meet the Cottage
Food Labeling Requirements, DEHQ will review product
labels beyond the initial 10 labels or as new product labels
are added throughout the year. The fee for the optional label
review beyond the initial 10 labels will be assessed at our
current hourly rate, in ½ hour increments. Cottage food
operators must ensure that the products they are selling:
- Are listed on the Cottage Food Operations (Approved Food
List - Updated 06/10/2021) as maintained by the
California Department of Public Health.
- Meet the
labeling requirements for all products beyond those reviewed
by DEHQ.
- Meet specified requirements pursuant to
the California Health & Safety Code related to preparing
foods that are on the approved food list.
Additional fees will apply for investigation of valid
complaints and re-inspections related to improperly labeled
products or unapproved products offered for sale. All
cottage food operators are required to: - Complete
a food
processor training course within three months of
approval of the cottage food operation (CFO).
- Implement sanitary conditions and maintain food
labels in accordance with federal and state
regulations.
- Comply with established gross annual
sales limits.
Get additional
information from the California Department of Public
Health.
| CFO
Application Submission |
Please complete the appropriate
application packet and either submit in person at our
Kearny Mesa Location (5500 Overland Ave. San
Diego, CA 92123), or by email FHDCottageFood@sdcounty.ca.gov.
NOTE: Please
remember to submit all necessary application
information to avoid delays in the approval process.
| How
to Pay Online |
Pay Online at www.dehpay.com - click on
the DEH tab. If you have any questions regarding
payment instructions, please contact (858)
505-6900.
Please DO NOT
submit payment with your application. Once
the application is approved, DEHQ will send
you a payment invoice with instructions for
making payment.
| Microenterprise
Home Kitchen Operations
(MEHKO) |
On September 18, 2018,
Assembly Bill 626 (AB626),
California Retail Food Code
(CRFC): Microenterprise Home Kitchen
Operations (MEHKO), was signed
by Governor Brown. This bill amends
state law, the California Retail Food
Code, and establishes a
“microenterprise home kitchen
operation” as a new type of retail
food facility. Microenterprise Home
Kitchen Operations, referred to as
MEHKOs, are like a mini restaurant in
a private residence operated by the
resident. In 2019, Assembly
Bill 377 was signed into law and
introduced amendments to the existing
law pertaining to Microenterprise Home
Kitchen Operations (Assembly Bill 626,
2018). Previously, under AB 626,
individual cities and counties had the
ability to opt-in or opt-out of a
program at their discretion. AB 377
changes the authorizing agency for
MEHKOs to only the governing body of
the local enforcement agency. In the
San Diego region, the Department of
Environmental Health and Quality, Food
and Housing Division is the local
enforcement agency, and the governing
body is the County Board of
Supervisors. This bill does not allow
for an individual city jurisdiction to
decide whether to opt-in or opt-out of
a program for their own jurisdiction.
To date, MEHKOs have not been
authorized in the San Diego
region. AB 377 also added
some food safety provisions for MEHKOs
including: requirements for cleaning
and sanitizing of utensils and
equipment, oversight by the facility
operator to ensure no cross
contamination occurs by individual in
the food preparation areas that are
not part of the MEHKO operation,
restrictions to prevent outdoor food
storage, and requirements that any
advertising specify that food was made
in a home kitchen. However, the newly
enacted law did not address potential
health and foodborne illness risks,
placed restrictions on the number of
inspections that can be conducted, and
did not address community impacts that
could result from the authorization of
a MEHKO program.
If you have any questions
regarding the new law, please refer to
the MEHKO FAQs or
contact Joel Wright at (619) 727-1829
or by email at Joel.Wright@sdcounty.ca.gov.
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