OK Home Bakery Act affects home bakers

Friday, April 27, 2018

The Oklahoma Home Bakery Act of 2013 made it legal to prepare baked goods in an uninspected, home kitchen and sell the goods from the homeowner’s premises. This act was amended in 2017 to allow home-baked items to be sold off-premises in selected locations.

This act affects home bakers around the state, and Oklahoma State University’s Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center wants to make sure these home bakers understand and follow the amended legislation, said Renee Nelson, FAPC milling and baking specialist.

“Confusion exists in correct adherence to this law,” Nelson said. “Home bakers need to understand the regulations so they can provide a safe product since they are not required to be inspected or licensed.”

Following are some of the main requirements of the Oklahoma Home Bakery Act of 2017.

What is allowed?

Under the amendment, home bakers’ primary residence becomes a non-inspected, home food establishment. Prepared foods can be made for sale or resale from this home food establishment.
Prepared foods are intended to be bakery goods, such as breads, pies, scones, cookies, cakes, brownies, bagels, donuts, tortillas, muffins, scones, tarts, granola, etc.
Prepared foods are not allowed to contain meat or fresh fruit.
Sale or resale of prepared foods can occur at farmers markets, onsite, by phone and internet within the state of Oklahoma, cooperatives and membership-based buying clubs.
The home food establishment is not allowed to exceed $20,000 in gross annual sales.

What is required?

Any prepared food sold by the home food establishment must have a label affixed, when possible, to the product containing name and address of the home food establishment, name of prepared item and the statement: “Made in a home food establishment that is not licensed by the State Department of Health.”
If a label is not easily affixed to the packaging of the bakery item, a free-standing label may be placed by the product or placed on the receipt.
A home food establishment must obtain a sales tax permit if selling at a farmers market.
Sales tax should be collected on all prepared foods sold.

How is the act enforced?

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry will receive complaints regarding ineffective adherence to the Home Baking Act. A “Home Bakery Complaint Form” will be provided athttp://www.oda.state.ok.us.
If a home food establishment is thought to have exceeded $20,000 in gross annual sales, ODAFF can request written documentation for evaluation. If a home food establishment is found to have violated the Home Baking Act, the establishment may be charged with a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed $100.

For more information, visit FAPC’s fact sheet at http://factsheets.okstate.edu/documents/fapc-183-understanding-the-oklahoma-home-bakery-act/.

In addition, FAPC is offering Home Baker Trainings on June 13 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and June 19 in Oklahoma City to assist home bakers in understanding the regulations.

The trainings will cover good manufacturing practices, allergens, labeling, cross contamination and food safety. Suggestions also will help aid in recordkeeping and calculations of income to determine if the baker is capable of expanding to a brick-and-mortar facility.

The cost is $25 per person and includes lunch, snacks and materials. To register, please visit http://fapc.biz/workshops/home-baker-training.

Andrea Graves, FAPC business planning and marketing specialist, said it is important for home bakers to attend one of the trainings and learn more about the Home Bakery Act.

“Selling food to the general public comes with expectations towards food safety that the home baker may not be fully aware,” Graves said. “No other instruction is offered in the state to educate home bakers on best practices, food safety and liability issues that come with producing a baked food.”

FAPC, a part of OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, helps to discover, develop and deliver technical and business information that stimulates and supports the growth of value-added food and agricultural products and processing in Oklahoma.

Story by Mandy Gross