Can someone explain Nebraska's law for licensing home bakers?
I'm not having any luck understanding the dept of ag page!

Thanks!

http://www.agr.ne.gov/division/daf/food.htm
It looks from the post that kelleym did on states that allow homebaking nebraska is one of the good ones if this link doesn't work go to the sticky at the top of this forum and look there.

Here's another thread on Nebraska ....

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-607287-nebraska.html

nisha_ru where in NE are you?

I don't know where in NE you live, but I called the Douglas County health department once about this and was told that you can't sell anything that is baked in your home. The only exception that I found was that you can sell home baked items at a farmer's market. You just need to have a sign that your items were made in a kitchen that isn't licensed or inspected.

I am in Cheyenne County but I'm actually asking for my Mom who is in Buffalo County.
She is interested in cooking meals for people but is wondering what it would take to get licensed, as in, what does she have to have and can't have in her kitchen. She can easily put a second kitchen in her basement but does it have to be closed off to the rest of the house?

I just went thru all of this (with dept of ag, health inspector, DOL, etc), I was told that in Nebraska you have to have a kitchen SEPERATE from your home for baking. Therefore, basement doesn't work.

It varies by county. Here in Lancaster County you can have a 2nd kitchen in your basement, but it must be in it's own separate room. You must be able to shut the door and close it off from the rest of the house. It also must be done in all commercial appliances, commercial grade flooring, washable walls, ceiling, 3 bay sink, mop sink, hand sink, etc. It also can not take up more that 20% of your living space.

I have done it both ways. In my last house, I was approved to work out of a spare room in our house. When we moved, there was a shop building on the new property that we wouldn't use, so we're converting that to my other kitchen.

Does anyone know the laws for Douglas County?

SweetArt... I have seen your website and LOVE LOVE LOVE your work! I am in Seward about 30 minutes from Lincoln.

And, apparently i must apologize! I was told that a basement or second kitchen wouldn't work for Nebraska, I must have misunderstood... it must have just been for Seward county. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused anyone. I have to say that starting a small business is quite an adventure!

Thanks, kakesbykitty. If you'd like, PM me your biz info. I occasionally get brides asking if I deliver out there, and since I don't, it's nice to give them a referral of someone closer to them.

I believe the Douglas county is similar to Lancaster since both the counties have the big cities in them. The more rural counties may be more relaxed. I even looked at moving across the county line as the cost of building another kitchen is steep. For those considering it, I'll give you my estimates. (These are not final costs as we wont be done til April, and this is for a building that is not attached to our home.)

Commercial grade appliances and fixtures: $7,000
Plumbing: $7,000
Electrical: $1,000
Heating and Air: $5,000
Floors, Walls, Ceiling: $3,000

There will be other misc. costs that pop up, also permit filing fees, inspections fees, etc. The electrical, floors, walls, ceilings we are saving a bit on by doing ourselves and/or having a friend(s) help out.

To get things started, I had to call the Health department first, obviously. They mailed me the info for state and county guidelines, and gave me numbers for the plumbing inspector, the fire inspector (who also gave me the # to someone who does permitting for gas appliances), city zoning, city planning and permits. You have to get a "Yes" from all of these departments. All electrical, gas, and plumbing have to be done by someone that is certified to do so, and it will have to pass an inspection by the city from each department.

It's a bit of a hectic process, and difficult to get all these workers and departments coordinated so leave yourself a lot of room for waiting in your time line.

The above cost, of appliances and fixtures, was for a 30 qt mixer, a 2 door cooler, 2 (stacked) gas ovens, 3 bay sink with 2 drain boards, hand sink, mop sink, 4 8' stainless steel tables, 3 6'x4' wire storage racks, and 3 rolling cooling racks. All cake pans or other smaller equipment, I already own, and is not included in that total.

The cost of the grease trap and water heater are factored into the plumbing.

By not having a stove top (or fryers) I was able to avoid having to buy a hood or fire suppression system.

I also already have my business filed with the state ($100 fee) and my food handlers permit ($40) from before I moved. A level 3 permit is required in Lancaster. The Health Department will re-inspect my new building before opening and that is about a $380 a year fee.

In Douglas county you can not get a kitchen attatched to your home liscenced. You can bake in your home as long as you do not bake more than three days a week and do not advertise. To even make a list of options and prices is considered advertising.

So is there any difference if it's cake or other food to sell? (My Mom would NOT be doing cakes, but meals and bread.)

Where would you go to get the information for your county?

Thanks all!!!

My guess is it might be a little more strict if she is sells meats and more dangerous perishables (higher level permit required), but the equipment will be the same: commercial grade, just like a restaurant. Here is her county health department, I'd start with calling them. http://www.dhhs.ne.gov/map/buffalo.htm

call the health inspector for your county. If in doubt check with your local chamber of commerce.

Hi, I was in Seward County with a licensed kitchen in my basement. My inspector did not require any commercial equipment. It had a hand sink, dish washer, fridge/freezer and stove/oven. The health inspector's name for Seward County is Calvin Kunze.

I am now in Harlan County and as I am getting started here, I don't need to have a license to sell if I am working less then 3 days, but I can not sell to commercial businesses. I will be getting license ASAP just because a second kitchen and the license gives much greater freedom.

HTH,
Cheryl

I had no idea there were even people on here from Nebraska (except for me and Gemini). I actually have a licensed kitchen in my home, but it is in what was a playroom so it was closed off. It was kind of pricey to get everything, but there is a restaurant supply store near here where I got my commercial sink and table used. I would call the dept of Ag and they will direct you to your inspector who can guide you through what you need. I probably called him half a dozen times before my inspection just to make sure I had everything. SweetArt, I love your stuff, too. I actually have seen your site before (maybe from Craigslist? Not sure.) I am in Papillion. I would love to chat sometime. Its so cool to meet all these people from Nebraska. Here is my site Babycakesomaha DOT com

Danielle