ELIZABETH – New Jersey bakers are suing the state in order to change a law that prevents the sale of homemade baked goods.
New Jersey law prohibits home bakers from selling goods made in their own kitchens. The goods have to be made in commercial kitchens. New Jersey is currently the only state with this law.
Cranford mother Martha Rabello turned her love of baking into a successful business.
“I used to rent a commercial kitchen to do my production,” Rabello says. “Once I had my second child, the added cost of child care ate up all my profits, so I had to shut down, sadly. Very sadly.”
The New Jersey Home Bakers Association gathered outside Union County Court Thursday to announce the lawsuit. They say that their baked goods are safe and that the ban is unconstitutional and hurts small businesses.
“This law has nothing to do with safety, 49 states already allow the sale of home baked goods and no one has ever gotten sick from it,” says attorney Erica Smith. “The only reason this law exists is to protect commercial bakers from competition.”