top of page

Additional Information to Know (work in progress)

LEGALITIES
1) Purpose of this statement? “This food is made in a home kitchen and is not inspected by the Department of State Health Services or a local health department.”
Summarizes the part of the Texas Cottage Law that allows individuals to sell food without need of a food manufactures' license, a commercial kitchen, nor inspection from local and state health departments.
2) Is this business legal? 
Yes! In order to sell food out of your home, there are requirements. Here are some key ones: food handler license (different from a food manufactures' license), abidance to allowed foods (more on this in section "Allowed Food?"), correct product labeling, and disclosure of major allergens in products.

1) Food handler license: received from the state-accredited eFoodcard course; good until 6/30/25
 
IMG_9845.jpeg
2) Abidance to allowed foods: only NTCS (Non Time or Temperature Controlled for Safety) foods can be sold out of homes! NTCS foods have a pH of 4.6 and below. NTCS foods also must have a water activity of .85 or below.
In general terms, NTCS foods are ones that can be left out at room temperature and still be okay after a few days.
I use recipes that are NTCS.
 
3) Correct product labeling: I include all necessary parts: address of food preparation, name of business, general name of the food sold, list of present major allergens, and the statement of non-inspection (talked about in question 1)
 
4) Disclosure of major allergens: listed both in the product description on website and also on the package label
 
3) When is it necessary for this business to be inspected?
The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and any health departments can only inspect my home with a warrant from a judge.
If the DSHS or health departments has reason to believe that my business poses a serious and immediate threat to human life and health, then they have justification to request a warrant.
**If you show signs of illness and highly believe it is because of one of my tarts, then please contact me at tarttreatery@gmail.com or a local health department (such as Dallas County Health and Human Services)
 
ORDERING PROCESS
4) Delivery areas, times, and fees?
-I deliver to the zipcodes 75205 and 75225 at an additional fee of $2. I deliver to the zipcode 75230 at an additional fee of $3.
-Delivery times are 4pm-6pm Saturday & 4pm-6pm Sunday.

If your desired delivery location is in one of these zipcodes and you would like delivery, follow these steps:
  •  In checkout, you should see an underlined location such as Dallas, TX
  • Click on this underlined location and edit your zipcode
  • Proceed through checkout and select your desired time of delivery
5) What to expect when selecting delivery
  • You will shortly receive a confirmation e-mail to the e-mail address you put during checkout. The e-mail will explain some general delivery details
  • You will receive another e-mail as quickly as possible from tarttreatery@gmail.com asking about how you'd like to receive your order.
    • Here's the options I can think of:​
      • I can ring the doorbell/knock and wait for someone to retrieve it in-person​
      • I can ring the doorbell/knock and just leave the order at the designated place. You will receive a delivery confirmation e-mail
      • If no one can be home during your selected delivery time frame, you can leave out a chilled cooler in which I can put the tarts. You will receive a delivery confirmation e-mail.
  • I am open to other delivery options, but we would both have to be comfortable with the plan.​​
6) Is it possible to select a more specific delivery time during the Saturday and Sunday time frames listed above?
No, sorry!
7) Pick-up fee and times
Pick-up is free!

Pick-up is available during 4pm-6pm Saturday & 4pm-6pm Sunday.
8) What should I expect when selecting the pick-up option?
You will receive an order confirmation e-mail promptly that contains some general pick-up information.

You will receive another email from tarttreatery@gmail.com that will ask you to choose a specific time to pick up your order from the time frames given. You will also receive a specific character code that any boxes in your order will have at pick-up.

Once your order is ready for pick-up, you will receive a pick-up ready e-mail giving more instructions.
9) Refund policy?
If your order does not meet the expectations based on prior information from me, I'll be more than glad to refund you appropriately (as in how many tarts do not meet expectations (e.g. 3 tarts total, 1 arrives broken --> 1 tart is refunded; 3 tarts total, all 3 arrive broken --> all are refunded).
THINGS TO NOTE​
  • Please email tarttreatery@gmail.com first. Your refund request will be evaluated.
  • I disclose any major allergens (peanuts, treenuts, wheat, milk, shellfish, fish, soy, eggs) on both the package label and tart product details on the website, so if someone eats a tart that is stated to contain an ingredient to which they are allergic, then I cannot give a refund.
    • HOWEVER, if the tart is stated to not contain an allergen yet someone still experiences an allergic reaction upon eating it, then it is my fault. If this happens, please contact tarttreatery@gmail.com. It is also highly recommended to contact a local health department too.
  • I will take pictures of your order before leaving if for retrieval. This helps with the refund request evaluation.​​
     
ALLOWED FOODS?
10) How does this pertain to Tart Treatery?
Only NTCS (Non Time or Temperature Controlled for Safety) foods can be sold out of homes! NTCS foods have:
 
  • a pH of 4.6 and below
  • a water activity
 
Basically, NTCS foods are ones that can be left out at room temperature and still be okay after a few days. I use recipes that are NTCS.
​
Here are some examples of ALLOWED foods that I find most relevant to this bakery:
  • baked goods that do not require refrigeration such as tarts and cakes
  • high acid fruit butters (pH below 4.6)
  • cooked/baked fruit tarts
  • unroasted nut butters
  • nuts
  • whole, uncut fruits 
  • other foods that meet the water activity and pH requirements (EX: the buttercreams I use have all been lab-approved)
 
Here are some examples of NOT ALLOWED foods that I find most relevant:​
  • cheesecake
  • low acid fruit butters (like pumpkin, pear, banana)
  • meringue pie (meringue filling is considered high risk)
  • pumpkin pie (pumpkin filling is considered high risk)
MISCELLANEOUS
11) Will you ever consider custom orders?
I am! While I'm still working out the exact details, I'd love to expand into customizing tarts hopefully.
12) Will you ever consider giving deals to customers such as buy # get # free, bulk discount, etc.?
That is something I've definitely been considering, but since I'm still in the starting phase of Tart Treatery, I'd like to hold off on that for now.
bottom of page