Over the last couple of years, there has been an increase in festivals and events in downtown Youngstown and along with that more vendors selling food they make at home. So what is the regulation like on this so-called cottage food industry?

21 News spoke with officials who say a lot of it depends on what people are making at home.

"We're just doing markets right now," explained Sarah Hulea of Canfield to a customer.

She and her mom Nancy started Mamalagels, a bagel business featuring their signature bagel the Mamalagel. The Mamalagel is a twist on the Romanian dish Mamaliga, and it's a cornmeal based bagel topped with dill.

The first time they sold their homemade bagels was at the Youngstown Flea this year.

The kneading, boiling and baking all take place in their Canfield home, so their business falls under Ohio's cottage food regulations.

"We're always washing our hands. Whenever we're cooking, I make sure before we start everything's very clean, that we pull our hair back," Hulea said.

They try to run it like a commercial kitchen, but they're exempt from inspection and licensing by the Ohio Department of Agriculture; however, packaging and specific labeling are required.

That's also the case for some other items that do not need to be refrigerated.

The state has a set list of non-potentially hazardous foods that are allowed to be produced in your home including baked goods that don't have to be in the fridge, fruit jams, and jellies, candy, and popcorn.

"So we're trying to balance out being proactive to allow people to get startups in their home without a lot of oversight for less risky foods. No food is safe, but there's less risk. But at the same time provide some level of protection to the consumer," said Terri Gerhardt, the ODA Food Safety Division Chief.

When looking at the potential risk to the public, the state says part of that is also how much quantity you produce, and these are small producers who can only have one oven or stove in their home.

Potentially hazardous bakery products that require refrigeration like cheesecakes, cream pies, and pumpkin pies require a home bakery license and inspection.

According to ODA, cottage foods are only allowed to be sold in Ohio, directly from home, in grocery stores, registered farm and farmers markets, restaurants and festivals organized by a political subdivision of the state.

Local health departments and ODA check for compliance in the marketplace.

"We haven't had anything recently. But in the past, we've had yes you need to remove this from sale. They've left the site, removed the items that were in question from sale and then we do reinspections as needed," said Tara Cioffi, Youngstown City Health District Environmental Health Director.

For Hulea, the rules have given their business a chance to test the waters before diving in to expand.

"I was so excited about the response we received at the one Youngstown Flea," Hulea said about their first time selling at the Flea.