"This is why people more often get sick by eating out than by eating at home. Even if the risk from home-cooked food were as high as or higher than that from restaurant-cooked food, the danger would have to be extraordinarily great to justify a ban.
Instead, home kitchens where food is prepared for sale should be held to separate standards that make sense for the enterprise. Many states already have cottage food laws that allow people to prepare and sell baked goods from home. In those states, the permits could simply be extended to allow the sale of cooked meals over the Internet"
First, a large majority of foodborne illness cases do occur in the home. While reported cases of illness do not show this, we recognize that reported cases are more likely to be cases related to outbreaks where 2 or more people become ill from eating the same food. However, the vast majority of cases go unreported with many of these being sporadic cases where one person becomes ill, and it is probable that a good majority of these sporadic cases occur from home practice.
Studies have shown that the many consumers don't have the best practices, including 1) are prone to have cross contamination issues in their kitchen, 2) don't have their refrigerators set at the right temperature, and 3) don't use a thermometer. What about those live-in 'intruders' making their way into the kitchen space...dogs, cats, and kids. There have been many instances where food made in the home and then served outside the home have been disastrous. Just last week, BBQ prepared in a home kitchen was responsible for 32 cases of Staph enterotoxin cases.
Unlike Uber where you get to inspect the car and the driver when it shows up, (and can jump out when things are not going right), you would not have the opportunity to inspect a person's kitchen, or their food handling and preparation skills. Once you bit into the food, you are not necessarily going to be aware if the food was subject to cross contamination, if it hit the proper end point cooking temperature, or if it was properly stored from time it was prepared to the time it shows up at your door.
Can a concept like this work...sure, but within the laws. It happened for trucks, maybe homes are next. I can actually see a company that contracts home cooks to prepare meals. They would work to make sure the people are properly trained (and have credentials to show) and that the kitchens receive the proper governmental inspections. The company can help people get the right equipment, develop and implement proper procedures, and provide additional ongoing support and inspection. The company would establish the internet ordering system (along with pictures of the people preparing the food and the kitchen space in which the food would be prepared). The company would then collect a percentage of the fees paid for the food.
One problem is the economics. Kitchensurfing and Ktichit, similar concepts except the chef comes to your house, both failed. The advantage in these cases is that the cooking space was the customer's own kitchen. Disadvantage, the need for chef's who were willing to perform their task for an audience, whereas in the concept above, the consumer would be more willing to accept a home cook. The next and biggest issue is the obtaining the commercial license for making prepared TCS foods for others. The company would have to work with the local jurisdiction to determine how this could be achieved within the current regulatory restrictions. No doubt there would be some costs that go into adapting a kitchen...but again, if it can be done in a truck, why not a kitchen...provided the kitchen meets required standards.
NY Post - Opinion
http://nypost.com/2017/02/21/regulations-make-it-too-hard-to-sell-home-cooked-food/
Regulations make it too hard to sell home-cooked food
By Jacob Gersen
February 21, 2017 | 5:01am
