On August19th, 2024, Homemade Texas and the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA) joined forces to send a letter notifying the Hardin County Health Department of several illegal requirements that had been placed on Hardin County cottage food operators, namely:
- That it is illegal to require a cottage food operator to purchase a “Food Establishment” permit, temporary or not.
- That refrigerating a quickbread does not turn the quickbread in a temperature-controlled item.
- That the Department’s website was outdated, offering inaccurate and outdated information from 2015.
Longtime followers of the Texas Cottage Food Law will recall that Homemade Texas and FARFA supported a bill in 2023 which would have put the permit issue to rest – it would have required a health department to fire any employee who attempted to require a permit of a cottage food operator. The bill came very, very close to passing – dying when time ran out at midnight on the last night the House was allowed to hear Senate bills, only 7 bills away from being heard.
Homemade Texas and the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance have been working for more than a decade to pass improved laws for home food production and protect the rights of those who rely on these small businesses for income. Please consider becoming a member to support our work as we head into the 2025 Texas Legislative Session and attempt to expand the cottage food law and protect cottage food producers from illegal permitting requirements..