11-year-old Chloe Stirling, of Madison County, makes around $200 a month selling cupcakes, but health officials said she would have to buy a bakery to continue.
Chloe's mother, Heather, said: "They called and said they were shutting us down, "They told us we would either have to buy a bakery or build a seperate kitchen if we wanted to continue baking and selling."
"Obviously we can't do that," Heather continues. "We've already given her a little refrigerator to keep her things in and her grandparents bought her a little mixer, but a seperate kitchen? Who can do that?"
Heather insists she was not going to look for special treatment for her daughter, but was looking to perhaps legitimise her business; health officials shut it down, instead.
Amy Yeager, a health department spokeswoman insists the department was simply following protocol. "The rules are the rules," she said. "The guidelines apply to everyone. People can react to us shutting down an 11-year old's business however they want, but it is our job."
There may be a silver lining to this debacle, though; Chloe says it will save her a lot of money.
"I promised I'd match her dollar-for-dollar on what she earned. She's saving up for a car."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
