Freshly made food sold on FB marketplace

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP and I am talking about Virginia. I love Indian food and I see a lot of postings for roti, samosa and curries. On one hand I want to buy, on the other hand I don't know if I should ask about their food license. I have read about cottage food laws in Virginia but it is not really clear what can be sold and what cannot when it comes to unbaked foods.

If you don’t want to eat it then don’t buy it. Very simple. They are within their rights to sell food. Leave them alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP and I am talking about Virginia. I love Indian food and I see a lot of postings for roti, samosa and curries. On one hand I want to buy, on the other hand I don't know if I should ask about their food license. I have read about cottage food laws in Virginia but it is not really clear what can be sold and what cannot when it comes to unbaked foods.

I would totally pay into an underground indian cooking scheme if it came recommended first hand by someone I knew.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP and I am talking about Virginia. I love Indian food and I see a lot of postings for roti, samosa and curries. On one hand I want to buy, on the other hand I don't know if I should ask about their food license. I have read about cottage food laws in Virginia but it is not really clear what can be sold and what cannot when it comes to unbaked foods.

If you’re the sort of person who would ask someone on FB marketplace for their food license, you should not be buying food from FB marketplace

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP and I am talking about Virginia. I love Indian food and I see a lot of postings for roti, samosa and curries. On one hand I want to buy, on the other hand I don't know if I should ask about their food license. I have read about cottage food laws in Virginia but it is not really clear what can be sold and what cannot when it comes to unbaked foods.

If you don’t want to eat it then don’t buy it. Very simple. They are within their rights to sell food. Leave them alone.

No, they are not, unless they are following the law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP and I am talking about Virginia. I love Indian food and I see a lot of postings for roti, samosa and curries. On one hand I want to buy, on the other hand I don't know if I should ask about their food license. I have read about cottage food laws in Virginia but it is not really clear what can be sold and what cannot when it comes to unbaked foods.

If you don’t want to eat it then don’t buy it. Very simple. They are within their rights to sell food. Leave them alone.

No, they are not, unless they are following the law.

So turn them in and be the biggest AH in the universe. Go right ahead! I bet you go on and on about protecting “undocumented” people and then want to rat out home cooks for making food you have absolutely no pressure to purchase….so ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of the best tamales and pupusas I've ever had have come from a woman on Facebook Marketplace. They are delicious!

Not surprised. While traveling internationally (Turkey, Mexico, etc.) the best food I’ve had has been homemade - restaurants rarely come close.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is OP and I am talking about Virginia. I love Indian food and I see a lot of postings for roti, samosa and curries. On one hand I want to buy, on the other hand I don't know if I should ask about their food license. I have read about cottage food laws in Virginia but it is not really clear what can be sold and what cannot when it comes to unbaked foods.

If you’re the sort of person who would ask someone on FB marketplace for their food license, you should not be buying food from FB marketplace

This. I bought food off Facebook one time, and didn’t repeat cause while the food was good, it did feel and bit random and I worry about ingredients quality for things like chicken or meat.

I also bought from women who prepared foods in their homes (like personal chefs) for freezer about whom I found on local Facebook groups. I’ve had good experiences so far.

With everything going on now, if you ask about license, she’ll probably just block you. I can imagine that they’d be worried that you’d be hard to satisfy if you start interaction with asking for their food license.

Just order at a restaurant, or look for a personal chef who’ll prepare in your kitchen with your ingredients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't eat it.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure most if not all sellers are not using a licensed commercial kitchen. They are probably using their own kitchen, where they let their cat jump all over the counters and sample the food. It's really unhygenic

You have a vivid imagination.

Actually, imaging a home kitchen to have the basic infrastructure to support adherence to health and safety regulations is having a vivid imagination.

[Anonymous]

It’s almost certainly illegal but if your concern is personal safety, I wouldn’t let that stress you out too much.

Yes it’s good if the people preparing the food have passed a safeserv class and use a commercial kitchen but the knowledge is way more important than the setting.

The most important thing you can do is reheat the food to 165F.

Bread and baked goods are less dangerous, which is partly why they have bigger carve outs for farmers markets and the like.

But the other big reason for varying cottage food laws is zoning and such. It doesn’t take a food operation getting that big for parking, noise and trash to begin to be noticeable for a dense neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s almost certainly illegal but if your concern is personal safety, I wouldn’t let that stress you out too much.

Yes it’s good if the people preparing the food have passed a safeserv class and use a commercial kitchen but the knowledge is way more important than the setting.

The most important thing you can do is reheat the food to 165F.

Bread and baked goods are less dangerous, which is partly why they have bigger carve outs for farmers markets and the like.

But the other big reason for varying cottage food laws is zoning and such. It doesn’t take a food operation getting that big for parking, noise and trash to begin to be noticeable for a dense neighborhood.

Reheating won't kill toxins that are heat-resistant and can survive even after the bacteria themselves are killed. Reheating won't remove physical contaminants like hair or fecal matter. I'm a food scientist, and home cooked meals for the public just freaks me out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure most if not all sellers are not using a licensed commercial kitchen. They are probably using their own kitchen, where they let their cat jump all over the counters and sample the food. It's really unhygenic

You have a vivid imagination.

Actually, imaging a home kitchen to have the basic infrastructure to support adherence to health and safety regulations is having a vivid imagination.

A home kitchen doesn’t meet the regulations but not the ones that are crucial for food safety. Of course you can prepare food safely in a home kitchen. But quantity will start to strain it.

Like here’s a place a home kitchen can get in trouble: cooling time. Suppose the Facebook chef is making a huge batch of curry. They use a giant pot but their home burners handle it and now they have a giant pot of hot curry.

Well, you need to get that down to 70F in two hours and from 70F to below 41F in 4 more to adhere to regulations. In a commercial kitchen you’re likely to have a big walk in cooler to help you. You can also use ice paddles which are big and bulky and probably wouldn’t fit in even an empty home freezer. If the home chef hasn’t made quantities like this before they may be thinking they’ll just pack a reach in fridge with containers of hot curry and that might not work.

But it’s not as if you’ll die if it takes 10 hours to cool the food instead of 6.

You can see how even if they are trying, this gets back to the zoning stuff. Like if the apartment next door suddenly adds two chest freezers and a second fridge? Plus, the home ventilation is not going to keep up. Etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure most if not all sellers are not using a licensed commercial kitchen. They are probably using their own kitchen, where they let their cat jump all over the counters and sample the food. It's really unhygenic

You have a vivid imagination.

Actually, imaging a home kitchen to have the basic infrastructure to support adherence to health and safety regulations is having a vivid imagination.

A home kitchen doesn’t meet the regulations but not the ones that are crucial for food safety. Of course you can prepare food safely in a home kitchen. But quantity will start to strain it.

Like here’s a place a home kitchen can get in trouble: cooling time. Suppose the Facebook chef is making a huge batch of curry. They use a giant pot but their home burners handle it and now they have a giant pot of hot curry.

Well, you need to get that down to 70F in two hours and from 70F to below 41F in 4 more to adhere to regulations. In a commercial kitchen you’re likely to have a big walk in cooler to help you. You can also use ice paddles which are big and bulky and probably wouldn’t fit in even an empty home freezer. If the home chef hasn’t made quantities like this before they may be thinking they’ll just pack a reach in fridge with containers of hot curry and that might not work.

But it’s not as if you’ll die if it takes 10 hours to cool the food instead of 6.

You can see how even if they are trying, this gets back to the zoning stuff. Like if the apartment next door suddenly adds two chest freezers and a second fridge? Plus, the home ventilation is not going to keep up. Etc.

Temperature control is a big factor. And cross contamination. A semi-pro home chef making huge batches of food all the time isn’t likely to keep the raw meat away from the fresh uncooked vegetables.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure most if not all sellers are not using a licensed commercial kitchen. They are probably using their own kitchen, where they let their cat jump all over the counters and sample the food. It's really unhygenic

You have a vivid imagination.

Actually, imaging a home kitchen to have the basic infrastructure to support adherence to health and safety regulations is having a vivid imagination.

Well, I can’t guarantee you that not a single DCUM kitchen is in compliance with health and safety regulations in my area (I am not in DMV). Why? Because no one has a sign in their homes reminding everyone involved in handling food to was their hands after using the bathroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sure most if not all sellers are not using a licensed commercial kitchen. They are probably using their own kitchen, where they let their cat jump all over the counters and sample the food. It's really unhygenic

You have a vivid imagination.

Actually, imaging a home kitchen to have the basic infrastructure to support adherence to health and safety regulations is having a vivid imagination.

Well, I can’t guarantee you that not a single DCUM kitchen is in compliance with health and safety regulations in my area (I am not in DMV). Why? Because no one has a sign in their homes reminding everyone involved in handling food to was their hands after using the bathroom.

I was talking more about things like the electric panel that can support cold storage and a blast chiller.