Question... In FL our Cottage Food Law says we can not accept payments online for food items. My question then is, if I were to label these items as non-edible but food safe, do you think that would be an ok loop hole? I mean, who really eats these solid gumpaste decorations anyway? Thanks for your insight!


PS.. I'd ask the gov't people or whoever is in charge of the law, but no one really has any info on it.. believe me, I spent weeks just trying to figure out the law just to get my business started last year.

Florida does prohibit online sales of food under the cottage food law. If you want to sell them online you would have to label them "for decoration only, not for consumption". Alternately, you could sell them online if you receive payment through the mail at your home, then mail out the product. I looked into that as well, but don't want to chance it.

People do eat them, even if it's a person who has had too many libations or a kid who just wants to try them. It's soft of like dragees. They're marked "for decoration only" not for consumption, BUT we all eat them. A lot of Gum-paste flowers are made with internal supports in the form of cloth covered florist wires. If someone bites into a wire and breaks a tooth, you could be in big trouble. At least if they're on a cake you can look into the eyes of the customer and warn them in person to cover yourself.