A proposed cottage-food law in Virginia attempts to go farther than any cottage-food law has gone before. If passed, it would exempt virtually all homemade – or small-farm-made – foods from regulation, provided the foods are sold directly from producer to consumer, in face-to-face transactions.

Cottage food laws typically exempt only non-perishable homemade goodies, like jams, jellies, cakes, cookies, candy and other novelty items that can be stored at room temperature. But the “Virginia Food Freedom Act” would exempt all homemade foods – including meat, dairy, partially cooked foods like chicken pot pie, and other foods requiring refrigeration – from licensing laws, health inspections, sales limitations and basically all government interference of any kind.'