Lemonade Stand Shut Down After 11-Year-Old Tries to Sell 'High-Risk' Food, Like Pie, Without Approval

An 11-year-old's lemonade stand in Australia was shut down after she was deemed to be selling "high-risk" food, like cupcakes and lemon meringue pie, the South Western Times reports.

“Unfortunately the stall was selling food without a permit and the young girl in charge was preparing food without approval,” environmental health manager Sarah Upton said.

“The girl had manufactured high-risk products containing cream, had no temperature control and had set up a marquee with a couch, chairs and tables in a location where it was unsafe for passing vehicles to pull over safely," Upton added.

File photo (Image credit: Michelle D. Milliman/Shutterstock)

The girl's mother, Marissa Ruderforth, raised awareness about the situation on Facebook and a number of news stations.

"It is such a sad day when a kid can't make a bit of extra cash just selling a few cupcakes and lemonade," she told ABC Perth, adding that her daughter got up at 4 a.m. to begin cooking, and brought a miniature fridge and ice.

"Everyone is aware [of] what you need to do with food," Ruderforth said.

If people are uncomfortable buying her daughter's products, they can just keep driving, she noted, saying: "If you don't want to buy, then don't."

Upton suggested the 11-year-old look into preparing her goods in a commercial kitchen, concluding: “Whilst we applaud the young girl’s entrepreneurial efforts it is always important to seek council approval first."

The 11-year-old is not the first child with a lemonade stand to be shut down by the government. In 2012, Glenn Beck called for a National Lemonade Stand Day in response to the string of lemonade stands being shut down in the United States, which he saw as a blow to the entrepreneurial spirit of America's youth.

Get the whole story from the South Western Times.