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 DEH. For those vendors who wish to ensure that all
of their product labels meet the Cottage
Food Labeling Requirements, DEH 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
07/01/20) as maintained by the California Department of
Public Health.
- Meet the labeling requirements for
all products beyond those reviewed by DEH.
- 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, DEH 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, 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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