The deadline for public comment has expired. Contact the agency or primary contact person listed below for assistance.
Rule Details
Rule Number:
25P033
Title:
Manufactured Food Rule.
Type:
Standard
Status:
Adopted
Agency:
Department of Health, Agency of Human Services
Legal Authority:
18 V.S.A. §4303(a); 18 V.S.A. §4353 (a); Section 6 of Act No. 42 of 2025; and 3 V.S.A. §801(b)(11).
Summary:
The purpose of the rule is to provide the requirements for the safe and sanitary manufacturing, packing, holding, and distributing of human food offered for sale in Vermont. This rulemaking does the following: 1) Defines cottage food operation, cottage food operator, and cottage food product, non-potentially hazardous baked good, and time or temperature control for safety; 2) Substitutes the more narrow bakery product exemption for a broader exemption categorized as the cottage food exemption and raises the exemption threshold of gross annual sales to $30,000; 3) Amends the existing exemption filing requirement frequency from prior to operation to an annual filing; 4) Creates a required annual training for license-exempt food manufacturers; and 5) Creates a process for cottage food operators to submit requests to the Department for determination whether the product they are making is a cottage food.
Persons Affected:
Cottage food operators manufacturing up to $30,000 gross annual sales of cottage foods, license-exempt manufacturers producing up to $10,000 gross annual sales of non-bakery products, and potential indirect impacts on Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD).
Economic Impact:
The raised exemption threshold frees licensed-exempt producers manufacturing up to $30,000 gross annual sales of cottage foods and/or $10,000 gross annual sales of non-bakery products from the obligation to obtain a license, pay associated licensure fees, and obtain a commercial facility thereby creating an economic savings. However, an annual training and filing requirement may have a small economic cost to the extent time and resources are diverted to these requirements. There are no anticipated direct impacts on ACCD. Lessening the economic burden on small food manufacturers may have indirect impacts on ACCD to the extent that there is an increase in new small business selling licensed-exempt food products and their participation in ACCD's programming.
Posting date:
Jul 30,2025
Hearing Information
Information for Hearing # 1
Hearing date:
Location:
Waterbury State Office Complex, Room A213
Address:
280 State Drive
City:
Waterbury
State:
VT
Zip:
05671-8300
Hearing Notes:
Also virtually via MS Teams at: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetupjoin/193ameeting_MWIzNWIyMWYtZTg4NC00MzZhLWE4ZTgtYjM1MWEwYTZlNzgy40thread.v2/0?context7b22Tid223a2220b4933b-baad-433c-9c02-70edcc7559c6222c22Oid223a22e6440c4f-7582-4db1-800b-a2038a1e1e68227d
Virtually via MS Teams at: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetupjoin/193ameeting_MWIzNWIyMWYtZTg4NC00MzZhLWE4ZTgtYjM1MWEwYTZlNzgy40thread.v2/0?context7b22Tid223a2220b4933b-baad-433c-9c02-70edcc7559c6222c22Oid223a22e6440c4f-7582-4db1-800b-a2038a1e1e68227d
