§ 21-330.1. Cottage food businesses

   (a) Applicability. -- This section does not:

   (1) Apply to a food establishment that is required to have a license under § 21-305 of this subtitle; or

   (2) Exempt a cottage food business from any applicable State or federal tax laws.

(b) License not required. -- A cottage food business is not required to be licensed by the Department if the owner of the cottage food business complies with this section.

(c) In general. -- The owner of a cottage food business may sell only cottage food products that are:

   (1) Stored on the premises of the cottage food business; and

   (2) Prepackaged with a label that contains:

      (i) The following information:

         1. The name and address of the cottage food business;

         2. The name of the cottage food product;

         3. The ingredients of the cottage food product in descending order of the amount of each ingredient by weight;

         4. The net weight or net volume of the cottage food product;

         5. Allergen information as specified by federal labeling requirements; and

         6. If any nutritional claim is made, nutritional information as specified by federal labeling requirements; and

      (ii) The following statement printed in 10 point or larger type in a color that provides a clear contrast to the background of the label: "Made by a cottage food business that is not subject to Maryland's food safety regulations.".

(d) Compliance with laws and ordinances. -- The owner of a cottage food business shall comply with all applicable county and municipal laws and ordinances regulating the preparation, processing, storage, and sale of cottage food products.

(e) Investigation of complaints. --

   (1) The Department may investigate any complaint alleging that a cottage food business has violated this section.

   (2) On receipt of a complaint, a representative of the Department, at a reasonable time, may enter and inspect the premises of a cottage food business to determine compliance with this section.

   (3) The owner of a cottage food business may not:

      (i) Refuse to grant access to a representative who requests to enter and inspect the premises of the cottage food business under paragraph (2) of this subsection; or

      (ii) Interfere with any inspection under paragraph (2) of this subsection.

   (4) An investigation of a cottage food business conducted under this subsection may include sampling of a cottage food product to determine if the cottage food product is misbranded or adulterated.

(f) Regulations. -- The Department shall adopt regulations to carry out this section.

HISTORY: 2012, chs. 255, 256.