I Battled Rhode Island’s Cookie Police | RealClearPolicy
Friends raved when I started making hand-decorated sugar cookies for my children s birthday parties in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. They often would tell their friends about me, and soon other parents were asking me to bake for their events. Before long a small business emerged in my kitchen. I called the enterprise A Spoonful of Sugar. As a stay-at-home mom with four children under the age of 12, I had limited opportunities for income. So, the revenue proved valuable.
My customers also benefited. Besides enjoying one-of-a-kind creations, they liked the idea of using a local small business. Instead of supporting centralized bakeries in faraway places, they could buy homemade cookies, cupcakes and other treats from someone in their own neighborhood. Customers also appreciated my commitment to food quality and safety. They trusted me, and I never received a complaint. Everyone was happy except the Rhode Island Department of Health, which shut me down in January 2021.
The reason had nothing to do with my facilities or processes. Regulators never even inspected my kitchen or sampled my work before taking action. They ordered me to halt my operation based on a zero-tolerance law in Rhode Island that blocks everyone except farmers from selling cottage food, meaning food made in a home kitchen for sale.
Replicate this millions of times across the US and well, you’re employing a lot of regulators I guess.