Home baked goods still a no go?

I love making homemade granola and small baked treats (if you need a chocolate zucchini bread recipe I’m your girl)… and I’d love to leave a jar or wrapped baked good for guests. Is that a bad idea still given concern over covid? Context- fully vaccinated and say so in listing description

Probably not a good idea Covid-wise but you need to check with your local authority. Here, we’re never permitted to serve food unless we have full commercial kitchens and annual inspections.

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Gotcha! That goes for free gifts too? I know there’s a cottage industry license in some places that allow baking at home but haven’t seriously looked into it as I’m not selling anything

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Again, I’d check with the authorities. If you gave your neighbour a batch of homemade scones, that’s a gift but for a guest, that’s part of a commercial enterprise. For instance, if I buy something from a store and get a ‘free gift’ along with it, it’s not really free?

But I’m sure it differs everywhere depending on local laws. I’m not saying that local laws make sense but I’d avoid baking or cooking for guests in case a guest claims to have been made sick by them. Or maybe that’s just me and my terrible cooking! :roll_eyes:

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Quite a few states allow home baking without a commercial kitchen. Probably not too hard to find out if it’s allowed.
@jaquo The reason it’s allowed in some states is that it is considered to be a safe product. You’re not serving undercooked meat, raw eggs, etc.

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Depends where you live - have you checked with your local government? @HudsonNY

Yes please:)
I have been giving the zucchini to the chickens because we cannot eat it.

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I have no idea of the legalities of gifting homemade baking, but as far as Covid goes, a year and a half into this pandemic, it seems people are still unclear on how the virus is transferred.

It isn’t transferred through food- it is transferred through respiration. If you had covid and touched the cookie jar after sneezing in your hand, and someone then touched that jar within a day or two and then wiped that hand across their mouth or nose, they could conceivably contract the virus, but how likely is that?

And if it’s a concern, a swipe with a bleach wipe on the jar would be sufficient.

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I have zero fear of covid transferred by a baked good. It’s an airborne respiratory illness and there are zero reports of cases of covid transmitted by ingesting food.

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Do it! If they don’t unwrap it or eat it, then you can. If you don’t fear giving it to them then you wouldn’t fear getting it right? I’ll come eat it :slight_smile:

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@jaquo – Florida does have a “cottage industry” law these days to allow for baked goods, jams & marmalades, salsas & sauces, and similar items.

Plus any state that allows Personal Chefs to operate (all of them AFAIK) allows you (if you have whatever your local level of approval is) to make gift foods. I am a certified Personal Chef here in Fort Myers, FL, which is how we can offer full cooked breakfasts to out guests as part of our Amenities.

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Every locale is different in terms of laws/regulations and the current COVID threat. I buy all the components of my complimentary breakfast. I had to tell my insurance company whether I was preparing food and suspect it would have meant a pricey premium increase. I also got ServSafe certified (just a US thing?). As a guest I would be more concerned about picking up some gastrointestinal bug or chomping on something that doesn’t belong in a muffin. Stop and Shop locally just recalled store brand muffins for a listeria risk. Thus there is always a tiny risk, but I think it is important to promote a super cautious image in this day and age. Not every guest has a sophisticated understanding of food handling and real versus imagined risks.

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