An 11-year-old baker's cupcake business has been shut down in Illinois.
Chloe Stirling, of Troy, makes about $200 a month selling cupcakes baked in her family's kitchen, charging $10 for a dozen and $2 for specialty cupcakes, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
On Monday, the Madison County Health Department put an end to Chloe's baking endeavor after a front-age article on the successful enterprise appeared in the Belleville News-Democrat.
“They called and said they were shutting us down,” Chloe's mother, Heather Stirling, told the Post-Dispatch, adding that in order for Chloe to continue selling cupcakes, the family would need to "buy a bakery or build her a kitchen separate from the one we have."
Amy Yeager, a health department spokeswoman, told the newspaper the county was only applying the law governing businesses that sell and distribute food to the general public.
"The rules are the rules. It’s for the protection of the public health," Yeager said. "The guidelines apply to everyone."
Chloe, who even donated cupcakes for a fundraiser benefiting a boy in her school who was battling cancer, told KSDK.com she doesn't have hard feelings.
"Well, I think it's just the rules are rules and they kind of need to be followed. I really don't blame the health department because it's not really their fault," she told the station.
KSDK.com reported that many people have offered to open up their county-inspected kitchens to Chloe. The family is also considering building a second kitchen in their basement so she can continue baking.
Click here for more from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
