California "Cottage Foods" Might Be Coming To A Market Near You

SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The California Homemade Food Act (AB 1616) – more commonly known as the California Cottage Food Bill – passed the California Assembly Committee on Health, bringing small food operators in California one step closer to legally cooking food in their home kitchens and selling directly to consumers, as detailed in an article in the April issue of Food Nutrition & Science.

"What I've always liked about the food business is the entrepreneurship and great ideas that come out of people's kitchens and often land on a shelf," says Phil Lempert, founder of Food Nutrition & Science and CEO of The Lempert Report and SupermarketGuru.com. "But it's expensive and very risky. The Cottage Food Bill allows entrepreneurs to test their products on a smaller scale and gives consumers the opportunity to try fresh and interesting products."

The California Homemade Food Act would give aspiring food entrepreneurs the ability to generate income from their home kitchen.

Also in this month's issue, an article on how some community gardeners are taking the concept a step further and planting edible forests in public spaces. The Beacon Food Forest is currently being developed in Seattle adjacent to the west side of Jefferson Park with the goal to grow enough nutritious food for everyone in need and empower other communities to create a shared local food source.

In addition, BJ's Wholesale Club joins the regional food trend as the company recently announced its locally grown produce program, "Farm to Club," will be available in each of its 195 clubs in all 15 states where its clubs are located. The program, which provides BJ's members with a variety of quality fresh fruit and produce from their state's local farms, is rolling out this spring and summer.

Other items featured this month include information on the fourth annual National Mediterranean Diet Month; spring salad recipes from Nutritionist Jennifer Shea; an interview with John Love, a commercial salmon fisherman in Whittier, Alaska; a video tour and information on school ethnic food and meal programs; and an interview with gluten-free cookbook Authors Kimberly Mayone and Kitty Broihier.

About Food Nutrition & Science

With more than 26,000 readers, Food Nutrition & Science is the only monthly newsletter created for all food industry players to communicate about the safest, most efficient and healthiest ways to get food to our plates. Founded by food industry analyst and CEO of The Lempert Report and SupermarketGuru.com Phil Lempert, Food Nutrition & Science provides readers analysis and offers discussions on all issues relating to the food industry. To learn more about healthy foods, trends, recipes and maneuvering the supermarket download "Smarter Shopping with Phil Lempert," a state-of the-art mobile app available at iTunes.

For more information or to subscribe to Food Nutrition & Science, please visit www.FoodNutritionScience.com.

SOURCE Food Nutrition & Science