Legal Question in Business Law in California

What's illegal about it? People sell home-baked cookies at bake sales etc. all the time,

I know that the state has some laws regulating farmers' markets, and the markets themselves have rules. One set of law is published in the California Administrative Code as Title 3, Section 1392.9. You might look at the preceding and following sections of the Administrative Code to get a more complete picture.

I'd ask the management of the farmer's market.

The law is there for a reason. Besides, if despite your best intentions someone were to claim to have gotten sick eating your cookies, you'd get sued, and you can't afford commercial product liability insurance. There is a very good chance that the health inspectors and the police regularly patrol the farmers' markets looking for folks like you. If they catch you, expect a misdemeanor criminal record, probation, and a stiff fine.

Whipple is usually pretty on point but he misses the mark on this one. As you mention, it is very illegal under state and local health laws to prepare food for sale in a kitchen that does not meet health codes and is not inspected by the local health authorities. As for what penalties you would face, it depends in part on your jurisdiction, but for a first offense it would probably involve fines. Repeat violations would eventually escallate to jail time.

Health inspectors don't have the time or budget for trolling farmers' markets looking for violators. But this doesn't excuse you for complying with the health code regulations.

For a home-based business doing what you are, this usually comes down to having a commercial kitchen. Your home kitchen can be modified to meet these standards, but the cost is usually prohibitive - more than $50,000 or so.

Kevin B. Murphy, B.S., M.B.A., J.D. - Mr. Franchise

Franchise Attorney