Home cooks in San Bernardino County looking to legitimize their businesses will have to wait.

The county could have become the second in the state to allow home-based restaurants, but concerns from supervisors about public health and impacts on cities and traditional restaurants mean county officials will spend the next six months further studying the issue.

“We know a lot of micro kitchens already exist in the county,” Supervisor Curt Hagman said Tuesday Dec. 10. “The difference with the county putting the seal of approval on it, and inspecting them once a year, means we’re part of that liability if something does happen.”

On Jan. 1, the state legalized micro-enterprise home kitchen operations, or “MEHKOs,” food facilities operated by a resident in a private home where food is stored, handled, prepared and served to customers. Counties can follow the law and start issuing permits to home kitchens. If they do, these home-based food businesses would be legal in unincorporated areas and cities.

Riverside County was the first to adopt the law. Most counties haven’t made a decision either way, according to San Bernardino County public health officials.

Supervisors discussed the law Tuesday, but ultimately asked public health officials to find out if cities support it, to continue monitoring Riverside County’s program, which started in June, and to look into the possible effects on trash, sewer and restaurants.

Hagman wanted to know if San Bernardino County could tailor an ordinance, rather than adopt the state’s parameters.

Akshay Prabhu, founder of Foodnome.com, a home restaurant startup that’s been working with Riverside County home cooks, said the law makes it easier for chefs to break into the food industry and gives them the flexibility to stay at home.

“All we want to do here is make it so the tamale ladies that you know, the people who are running bake sales, can do this with some health and safety guidance from environmental health rather than doing it underground like it already exists,” Prabhu said.

To qualify, home kitchens would only have one employee in addition to family and household members. They are limited to serving 30 meals a day, or 60 meals a week, and $50,000 in gross sales a year. Food can be consumed at a home, picked up or delivered. They would not be able to use a third party food-delivery service, such as Grubhub, Uber Eats or Postmates, said Trudy Raymundo, director of the county’s department of public health.

They also would be exempt from several health and safety rules placed on traditional restaurants, including having a letter grade card in the window as well as handwashing, certain equipment and sanitation requirements. Home kitchens can only be inspected once a year and by appointment only, unlike the typical unannounced visits to restaurants from health inspectors.

Home cooks need to get “food handler” certification from the county to show they understand basic safe food preparation, storage and service techniques.

They’re also required to maintain regular hours of operation and cannot post signs in front of their home advertising their business.

If the county adopts the rules, cities wouldn’t be able to restrict home-based kitchens, which concerned some supervisors. However, cities could still enforce code-enforcement violations if neighbors complain about odors, traffic, parking or noise. Victorville opposes the law.

Since launching its program in June, Riverside County has not received complaints about home kitchens and the program has had no issues, Dottie Merki, an environmental health spokeswoman, said in an email.

“Our inspectors spend a lot of time with the applicants to ensure they understand the parameters of the ordinance and help them fill out necessary paperwork, go over menu items, etc.,” Merki said.

Foodnome.com has tracked 4,200 meals served from the home kitchens and found the average purchase is two and a half meals per family, Isaac O’Leary, its vice president of marketing, told supervisors. Home kitchens see no more than 12 people over an average window of four hours on their busiest nights, O’Leary said.

While home kitchens are exempt from hand-washing requirements, they must have a hand-washing station separate from the kitchen’s food-cleaning area, O’Leary said.

Their required food safety manager certification is also tougher than that for any restaurant line cook, O’Leary said.

“These home cooks are meeting their diners face to face, and a vast majority of them are serving from their own homes,” O’Leary said, “creating a level of public accountability for food safety that is far greater than any letter grade in front of an unseen kitchen.”

Supervisor Josie Gonzales worried about the potential impact on public health because inspections are once a year and scheduled ahead of time. Supervisor Robert Lovingood worried the law would create an unfair playing field for business owners who have invested in brick-and-mortar restaurants.

Supervisor Janice Rutherford, who brought the idea to supervisors, said people will change how they do business as the economy and technology changes.

“We shouldn’t be picking the winners and losers among them,” Rutherford said. “We’ve got constituents who see this as an opportunity to either pursue a passion or get into business or make ends meet. We ought to be supporting and embracing that.”

ABOUT HOME KITCHENS

What: A micro-enterprise home kitchen operation, or a “MEHKO,” is run by a resident in a private home where food is stored, handled, prepared for and served to customers.

Details: They are limited to one employee in addition to family and household members, can’t serve more than 30 meals a day or 60 meals a week and cannot earn more than $50,000 in gross annual sales.

Ratings: Home kitchens don’t need a letter grade card in the window. They’re also exempt from hand washing, using certain equipment and sanitation requirements.

Inspections: Once a year, by appointment.

Qualifications: Home cooks need food handler certification to show they understand basic safe preparation, storage and service techniques.

Other rules: They must maintain regular hours, present a menu and cannot post signs in front of their home.