Kapiti Coast District Council says it is enforcing Government regulations, not its own, in making market vendors prepare cakes and chutneys in registered kitchens.
At a meeting in Otaki on Friday, assets and services group manager Gary Simpson said the council began cracking down on food stalls after discovering a general ignorance of the rules on preparing and selling food at markets.
The Otaki Women's Club craft market says it's lost six food sellers who don't use registered kitchens.
Stallholders have suggested some kind of umbrella food licence for markets.
Mr Simpson says the Food Safety Authority is currently reviewing domestic food policies.
He says the rules create a dilemma for the council.
