[lucylou]

hi! please dont be cross with me asking this rather random question - but i thought that someone on this site may be able to help me. I want to sell some of my home made cakes (using my own eggs of course) to a local farm shop. They have agreed to meet me to discuss this but they have not sold cakes before and i have not supplied before (only as a WI stall holder) and i want to look as if i know what i am doing - does anyone know how this is done, are the cakes normally bought by the shop and then they take the loss of unsold items or sale or return - or commission? is there a standard sort of method for farm shops or does it depend on the shop? They have asked if i can supply eggs too - but i assume this requires all sorts of regulation as i have only got 18 hens? Thankyou in advance for any help you are able to pass my way! lucyloux

[GrannieAnnie]

Hi Lucy, my friend down the road wanted to sell her own cakes from her house, but the local Environmental health officer said she needed to have 2 sinks in her kitchen, one for hands the other for other stuff and that she couldn't sell cakes made with her own eggs because of the possibilities of salmonella.

So you really need an inspection by the EHO to make sure your kitchen is up to scratch, and selling third party is probably even more precarious.  Don't get yourself into trouble!!

[lucylou]

thanks grannieannie. I have recently registered with e.health and waiting for their inspector to make his appointment - so will see how that goes , i didnt know about not using my own eggs so will ask about that. lucyloux 

[GrannieAnnie]

AAAhhh sensible girl!  Her EHO said she can use eggs she has bought as they would be tested for salmonella, but she can't use her own home grown fresh eggs.  However, she was also making mayonnaise, which uses raw eggs but that was okay!  How stupid is that eh???

[joyfull]

Hi, Ma Lowe makes very lovely celebration cakes and has her own chickens and again I think she cannot use her own hens eggs either. She goes through the inspections. Why not try pming her to see if she can advise 

[Sassy]

We live in a world gone mad!!!!!!!!!!!

I really hope you are able to get your project off the ground, it is made so difficult to help yourself today.

[lucylou]

thankyou! yes i will try pming  ma lowe. lucyloux

[sneezer]

Hi there, i used to work in a farm shop, regarding selling the cakes, we had one supplier who we just ordered what we wanted if these didn't sell it was the loss of the farm shop, however we had another supplier (I think she was a bit eccentric) she would just send us what she had and then if they didn't sell she would take the loss!!  There are several laws regarding selling eggs, one of the main ones is grading to size and the other is the sell by date I think there has to be a certain amount of weeks on the date when purchased ( i'm sure someone will know exactly)I hope this helps

[hendreary]

You could ask your EHO if he can recommend a local lab that will test your eggs for you. It would probably only need doing two or three times a year at the most and if only testing for the presence of salmonella it shouldn't be that expensive. This would also be a good sales point if you start to sell your eggs.

[lucylou]

thankyou so much everybody - you have been incredibly helpful - i just knew you lot would come up trumps!! will keep you informed as to how things progress, lucyloux

[karlooben]

You could ask your EHO if he can recommend a local lab that will test your eggs for you. It would probably only need doing two or three times a year at the most and if only testing for the presence of salmonella it shouldn't be that expensive. This would also be a good sales point if you start to sell your eggs.

just out of interest for myself i mite look into doing that  i havent sold a dodgy egg yet but its better to be safe then sorry

[Ma Lowe]

I thought I could hear my name being mentioned lol.

I run a business from my home making wedding and celebration cakes. I am inspected every few years by the EHO. As long as you are not using things like fresh cream or cream cheese or ingredients that have a very short shelf life you will be classed as a low risk business. I have 2 sinks so that was not an issue but not all councils require you to have  the 2 sinks. Unfortunately in this country not all the regions councils sing from the same hymn book so you may find the rules slightly different in your area.

As for the eggs I have. I asked my EHO officer about using them in the cakes I sell and first of all he said not to use them but then I said the chickens had been vacinated and he said that it should be ok to use them.
I use the eggs in my cakes as that is my main egg usage if I didn't use them I would have a lot of eggs going to waste and I only have 4 hens.

I have sent you a pm Lucylou
If you need any other info just let me know.

[lucylou]

mmm! that's interesting - i may be able to use my ex bat girl eggs then as they have been vaccinated - i will ask him, thanks, lucyloux

[Sassy]

Just wondering if you might be able to get more info from the DEFRA website. And/or give your EHO a call, I'm sure they would be happy to help.