Subcommittee advances cottage‑food reforms to let home bakers take online orders and modernize labels

A House subcommittee on Thursday approved a committee substitute to HB 402 that aims to modernize Virginia's cottage‑food law to help home bakers scale sales while preserving food‑safety oversight.

Delegate Colson, sponsor of the bill, said the substitute narrows the original proposal but keeps key reforms: allowing online payment for shelf‑stable foods, removing the requirement to put a home address on labels, and directing a study this year to consider further permitting changes for home‑based food producers. "This is a way for women to have upward mobility," the sponsor said, urging support for small, home‑grown businesses.

The original bill included a wholesale (third‑party) option that would have permitted home bakers to sell through third parties; that provision was struck from the committee substitute after negotiations with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS). The substitute instead requires targeted regulatory and statutory study to find a workable path forward.

Scores of home bakers and cottage‑food operators testified in favor, telling the committee that current limits on venues and the inability to accept online preorders hamper growth. "My ability to earn a living depends on whether it ices over, or whether my kids have a sports tournament," said Anna Erman, a proprietor who testified that allowing online orders and third‑party sales would let her scale and stabilize income.

VDACS and other stakeholders worked with the sponsor on the substitute. With the substitute adopted, the committee voted 10–0 to report HB 402 to the next stage.

The substitute initiates work within agencies and the legislature to reconcile safety, labeling and commerce rules; any permanent expansion of wholesale or other sales channels will require further statutory action or regulatory change.