A Deep Dive Into Our National Research on Home Bakery Safety

When I set out to build Homebaked Nearby, I wasn’t just launching another food platform—I was applying years of regulatory experience to build a marketplace that customers could trust. As a former health inspector, registered in Environmental Health in California, Texas, and with the National Environmental Health Association, I’ve personally inspected thousands of restaurants across multiple states.

But before we launched, I needed to answer one crucial question: How safe are cottage food bakeries compared to retail bakeries?

While I had my professional hunches, I wanted to back our approach with hard data. So in 2023, we conducted a nationwide deep dive into the safety records of cottage food operators—the home bakers behind the custom cakes, cookies, and desserts you see on our site.

How Health Departments Track Food Safety

Most people don’t realize this, but public health departments measure the success of food safety programs not just by the types of violations and closures from routine inspections they complete, but by the volume of foodborne illness complaints they receive. Because our job as inspectors is prevention, these complaints serve as one of the most telling indicators of food safety risks.

Georgia's Home Bakeries: A Strong Start

We began our research by contacting states with strong recordkeeping. In Georgia, the Department of Agriculture oversees over 2,000 registered cottage food operators.

When we asked for their foodborne illness complaint data, we were stunned by the response: Not a single foodborne illness complaint in five years.

That result was compelling—but we wanted to dig deeper and look for more granular comparisons, especially where local-level enforcement mirrors that of the restaurant industry.

A Rare Side-by-Side Comparison of California Home Bakeries vs. Retail Bakeries

California offers an excellent model: it issues permits for cottage food operators at the local level—the same level that regulates traditional retail food establishments. This meant we could make direct, apples-to-apples comparisons.

We reached out to several California county health departments to find any data they had on cottage food safety. Not all departments tracked this information, but Orange County Environmental Health, where I once worked, did. Here’s what we found:

Retail bakeries and manufacturers:
~1,000 in Orange County
Foodborne illness complaints in 2 years: 33

Licensed home bakers:
715 in Orange County
Foodborne illness complaints in 5 years: 0

Yes—zero complaints over five years. When we spoke with California health departments, they did mention occasional local complaints involving home bakers, but these were not related to foodborne illnesses. Instead, they involved bakers shipping products out-of-state or foods that weren’t properly prepackaged—both violations of California's cottage food law, but not indicators of illness or imminent safety risks.

What About Texas Home Bakers?

At this time, Texas does not require registration for cottage food operators, and currently does not track foodborne illness data specific to home bakers. Because we couldn’t rely on state oversight for data, we made a decision that aligned with our mission:

At Homebaked Nearby, we adopted our own safety standards modeled after California’s cottage food laws—arguably the most well-established and locally enforced in the country. You can view our Texas Cottage Food Law Page for more information. This ensures that the bakers on our platform—and their customers—are protected by clear, proven food safety practices.

Why Our Texas Home Bakers Are Safer
As a former health inspector, I believe the low risk in the cottage food world comes down to 3 key factors:

1.) Our Texas Cottage Food Bakers Are Trained
Cottage food operators are required to take food handler safety courses, just like restaurant employees. On Homebaked Nearby, many of our home bakers choose to upload their certificates so you can see their commitment to food safety firsthand.

2.) They Bake Low-Risk Foods
Cottage food laws restrict bakers to non-TCS (Time/Temperature Control for Safety) foods—items that don’t require refrigeration and are less likely to cause illness. *Note: this may be changing with revised cottage food laws in September 2025.

3.) The Major Reason: The Owner is The Baker
Home bakers typically work alone or with a trusted family member or employee, managing every detail—from cleaning to packaging. Because their reputation is tied to every order, they bring a level of personal care and accountability that’s often missing in larger retail kitchens, where owners are focused on back-office tasks and food prep is often left to employees.

Why Homebaked Nearby Supports Texas Home Bakers

The assumption that retail bakeries are inherently safer simply doesn’t hold up to the data. In fact, the opposite is often true. With strong training, simpler menus, and a deep personal investment in each order, home bakers are often safer—and more consistent—than traditional retail kitchens.

At Homebaked Nearby, we’ve built our entire model around safety, transparency, and trust. By supporting a home baker, you’re not only getting delicious food—you’re choosing a provider who cares about your health as much as your happiness.

Lauren, REHS/RS