home based baking

[Mfamom]

i've noticed a lot of moms in the area baking for some extra money....turning out cute cakes/cookies etc. 
one mom added to her menu this week "gluten free", "nut free" stuff.  she's trying to appeal to that crowd and it was really interesting because there was just a thread on the moms page on facebook about allergies/schools etc.  now all of the sudden, she has added the "free" to her offerings.
I want to ask her if she has a dedicated kitchen etc., but don't want her to think i'm being rude etc. 

[Mfamom]

interesting what you learn on facebook! 
I saw a post from a local family who I know by sight, but don't know well.  they posted a pic about "labor day" showing literally hundreds of boxes of tomatoes, piles of basil, all the stuff to make sauce, canning jars etc. 
this is in a home kitchen with kids "helping".  I ask what they are going to do with THAT MUCH SAUCE!  someone messaged me "they make the sauce for their restaurant".  I nearly f'ing fell off my chair.  this is a pizza place that I let my ds eat at....never thought it is allowed or would be made off site. 

[YouKnowWho]

My first question would be does the department of health know that they are operating a home cooking business.

I have no interest in buying food from those who are not a pro-kitchen.  Nor from those that don't have a flipping clue about allergies beyond saying it's gluten free because that is trendy, kwim?

[Mfamom]

my concern is that a lot of people are ordering from her and she seems to have quite a following.  when there was a recent thread about entering school with pa, there were a ton of moms in the same boat with allergies asking questions and I could tell by their posts that many of them undereducated.  so, naturally i am concerned about people ordering from her on her word that it is 'peanut' free.

I just asked her if she could tell me more about her pn free stuff.  she replied:
I don't have a dedicated kitchen but all the nut-free items are stored separately and prepared by themselves so there is no interaction. I constantly prepare special items such a nut-free, egg-less, kosher, etc and have never had any negative reaction from any customers. hope this helps!

so she is labeling/marketing as "free" just because she stores stuff separately and makes it "by itself" therefore no interaction....concerns me a lot

[Mfamom]

My first question would be does the department of health know that they are operating a home cooking business.

I have no interest in buying food from those who are not a pro-kitchen.  Nor from those that don't have a flipping clue about allergies beyond saying it's gluten free because that is trendy, kwim?

right and it seems like she came up with this "target market" after the long thread about allergies/schools etc.

[YouKnowWho]

I understand that but I think a lot of us are here because we are the "elite" among allergies.  I know other's with peanut allergies that don't go to the lengths that I do and I know those here that would consider my approach lax.

So for us?  Yeah that kitchen is a no go given that there are huge factors.  Heck, I have thrown out most of my old cookware because things like teflon hide gluten proteins.  And the few things I kept are able to be covered safely (parchment paper) to make me feel comfortable. 

I have a really nice stand mixer that I used pre-gluten allergy that no matter how well I clean, there are too many factors that would make cross contamination a risk.  Could I use it to make something for my MIL who is avoiding gluten for health reasons but not anal retentive about it, sure.  But not for DS1.

[nameless]

Well --- the laws (pretty much in each state or county) are that in order to have a home-food business you have to have a separate kitchen, 2 separate sinks, pet-free, non-residential kitchen to cook/bake in in order to sell. The health department certifies the kitchen.  She also would need a business license to have any homebased business where she makes any money from it at all, before cost deductions.

Sounds like a hobby kitchen that may not be certified. It's possible she could have a basement second kitchen or an in-law apt. that got certified to bake in. Probably not.

If you are that concerned you could wait a little while and then report her to the health dept.  To be advertised as "whatever free" I do believe there are regulations for that as well for your state and the FDA rules. That's why we don't see so much peanut/nut "free" advertised in the states on manufactured foods.

Adrienne

[Mfamom]

here's her latest reply:

I appreciate you inquiring and your concerns. The products I make are nut-free and I can assure my clients that the products they receive will be just that. I never stated that the facility is a nut-free facility and I will state that to anyone who asks. Again, I have never had any problems, issues or concerns raised thus far with any of my products and I have been in business for 7 years.
..

[Mfamom]

that's what makes me upset....I can assure my clients...
like hell you can. 

[nameless]

devil's advocate --- it might be she is doing prep-work and cleaning correctly and there is minimal risk.

When I go home to visit family - we re-wash by hand w/ a new sponge anything I use or we cook with and I buy new baking items (flour, butter, etc.) b/c my sister has nuts and peanuts out all the time.  I've done ok with that and it seems the way to do it correctly. Washing w/ a new dish sponge and towels, thoroughly clean counters, etc.

Now there's a whole other issue with her raw materials --- like...what chocolate chips would she use? Do they come w/ a warning and she's just using them saying nut/pn free?  There are those issues too.

I think you'll just have to let this one go, though it's annoying and you are worried about safety for others. You've put concerns on her radar and maybe she'll take pause on it, even if she's not saying that to you.  Everyone has a different comfort zone, so you just have to let people do their own thing. Hopefully no one learns a fatal lesson...that's the concern.

I guess if you want to pursue you could ask the board of health about her license/kitchen. Else -- maybe print out some of the In memory stories that show cross-x as the culprit, and mail them to her.

Adrienne

[Mfamom]

i guess it just irks me and concerns me when people try to bake for allergic individuals.  irks me too when so many parents are trusting of people like this to bake for their kids.

[Jessica]

Who even knows if she is using generic ingredients that generally don't even label for possible cross contamination or shared facilities. I hope nothing bad happens to any of her allergic customers.

[Mfamom]

Exactly...so many people dont understand labeling laws
So many dont understand it just takes s tiny bit to cause reaction.  She obviously thinks nut free means she didn't add nuts to the recipe. 

[Mfamom]

what freaked me out one day a long time ago is I was at my sil house and she kept insiting she could bake for my ds.  (I tend to resist more when i feel I'm being pushed into something) anyway, I raised the arm of her kitchenaid mixer and there was dried "batter" on the underside where the beater goes, it was actually pretty gunked up. 
I showed her....all it would take is for some of it to break off when she put the arm down into her "peanut free" creation.

do you think a person doing home baking and selling it could be sued if a peanut allergic kid bought one of her pf creations?

[nameless]

Well if she's not got a business license and certified kitchen she's breaking the law. All sorts of fines and whatnot.

And yes - if someone got ill or had a reaction off her goods she could be sued. And if she doesn't have a business license/certified kitchen she's in double doo-doo...and probably doesn't have liability insurance.

But - she might have another kitchen. It's easy to ask her, she may or not respond. You could flat out ask her if she's doing the baking/etc. in her home kitchen where regular household foods and cooking can mingle with allergen free.

Or you could just write up something talking about cross-x, talking about labeling laws...that many severely allergic and well-aware allergic have to not only read labels but call to find out about cross-x in manufactured products.  That trace amounts can be in the products and can cause reactions. You can preface it all saying that you are very concerned about her recent marketing and she may now see more food allergic individuals...which will up the ante for her and how well she avoids cross-x in her own kitchen let alone the raw materials she is buying. 

I think all you can do is give her information. Just send it to her --- she reads it or she doesn't but you've sent it and might have more peace of mind.

The alternate is call the dept of heath in your area and get her possibly in trouble and her business shut down. I don't think there's a way to just get her to stop saying gluten/nut/pn free on things without getting her whole operation in trouble if she's not certified/licensed.

Depends how far you want to take it, and then be enemy #1 and possibly get sued for harassment.

My vote is to just inform her. One more email with information on labeling, cross-x, and documentation of reactions from cross-x. Might make her think twice about this re-branding.

Adrienne