By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network
LANSING, MI – Governor Granholm will sign a bill Monday that would allow small farmers and home cooks to sell their goods without getting a state license. The law is supposed to make it easier for people to sell homemade food products at farmers markets and roadside as long as they make less than 15 thousand dollars a year at it.
Republican state Representative John Proos says it costs tens-of-thousands of dollars to build commercial kitchens, and that cuts a lot of people out of the food business.
"This is about decreasing regulations, increasing the access to a marketplace, and allowing small entrepreneurs, who may one day be the next Mrs. Fields, to participate in our farm markets and our farm stands," Proos says.
People who sell goods produced from cottage kitchens would still have to adhere to the federal food code, and to regulations regarding labels and ingredients.