| Please, please be careful with what you offer for sale. The FDA has regs about what you can sell to the public (including open-air markets and farmers markets) and they are really VERY tough on the little guys if caught. I abide by the regs because this is my hobby income and I would not want to be shut down permanently, let alone sicken anyone because of my ignorance. Just because you serve it to your family does not mean it is OK to offer it for sale. One of the biggies is that home-canned food prepared in a pressure canner can never be offered for sale in any State, Nationwide. Reason is they can't certify that the proper pounds of pressure and length of time was used when prepared in a home canning kitchen. There is also no way to water bath can low acid foods safely unless pickled (acidified) and PLEASE NO CANNED GREEN BEANS - they've killed enough people already. To offer ACID and ACIDIFIED (pickled) LOW ACID canned foods the FDA (Nationwide) requires you to complete a course and become an Operation Supervisor, or have one supervise your entire process for each batch. It is called "Acidified Foods Processing and Packaging, Better Process Control School" that is offered through County Extension offices in each State. This would include water bath canned foods like pickles, salsa, mustards, chutney, vinegars, and all tomato products. REFRIGERATED PICKLES cannot ever be offered for sale either (not shelf stable)! You must also register your "facility" with the FDA under the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 if you want to sell acidified foods. It is free to register. The reason is that they want a chain of contamination if something nasty breaks out - remember the bags of spinach, canned mushrooms, peanut butter? And, if you sell acidified low acid foods, you must file a Process Control sheet for each product, also free. I would be very, very worried about offering the Sicilian Pickled Eggplant recipe posted here without it being tested by my State’s Food Science Lab, not having an Acidified Foods approval, and, that it is not shelf stable. OK for family, but really scary being offered for sale at a Farmers Market. Each State has regs, as do some Cities and Counties. It would be wise to research them for your location, and not go by what the neighboring vendor says, or sells. Here in NC I have to have a Dept of INSPECTED KITCHEN and have my well inspected against E. coli every year. They can come in at any time without announcement to verify that their regs are being followed - just like they do for inspecting restaurants - and have the power to shut you down if not up to par. Another item you want to consider is the risk of botulism, molds, and bacteria’s like listeria and salmonella when foods are sold that must be kept hot or kept cold – which are not "SHELF STABLE". I would not want to take a chance that your customer leaves it in the car all day, eats it the next week, and sues you when they get sick. It does happen. BTW, do you have Mil$ liability insurance on your offerings in case it does? I do, for $125 a year. And, with TAKE AWAY foods, you may need a City, County, and/or State Health Department permit, usually called a "Concession Stand" or "Catering" Permit. It is hard to abide by their regs because of the risk of airborne contaminations outside of your kitchen. The FDA also does not want you to sell fresh meats, dairy products, frozen treats, sandwiches, cream pies, baked goods with meat, juices and hot coffee, for example, without the correct permits added to the shelf stable regs. For any MEAT OR DAIRY product, the USDA gets a say with their regs. I would not want to mess with them either. These regs are nationwide, not just State regulated. Selling EGGS also has regs so just out of the back of your truck is not a good thing to offer. I would really, really worry about those postings suggesting meat stuffed peppers, curry, pizza, fresh sandwiches, grilled peppers, and even that peanut butter (oil based). Your Market Manager should also be up on the regs since he/she would be held liable even if ignorant of the regs, which is not an excuse. Consequences are severe. As for BAKED goods, there is little regulation except that you should not offer anything that is not shelf stable. This includes no-no's like meringues and cheesecakes, very juicy pies and creamy tarts that are unstable in the open air. Breads and cakes, cookies and candies are shelf stable and are good sellers. That is why the Amish have such a nice variety. Pies are iffy – it is the water activity that the FDA is most concerned about - higher than .91% invites microorganisms to grow. http://www.foodtechsource.com/rcenter/tech_data/td_water.htm
It is very difficult to ascertain your products’ water activity without expensive equipment. Suffice it to say that if your pie is very juicy and needs refrigeration to be safe, it is not good to offer it for sale. As for DEHYDRATED foods - there is little water activity so they are not regulated. Go ahead with jerky, dried veggies, fruits, and herbs, even dried soup blends. They are very good sellers and safe. As for JAMS AND JELLY - there is little possibility for growth of botulism with their high sugar content and the natural acidity of most fruits. But be careful - bananas, figs, peaches, persimmons, pears, plums, mangoes, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, apricots, and tomatoes are low-acid and MUST have bottled lemon juice added to bring up the acidity levels when jellied or jammed. Molds are a problem if not canned properly (you must use a water bath canner for proper sealing and for long term safe storage). As for anything using OILS - don't go there. Especially low acid foods like garlic, peppers, onions, and herbs. There is a very high incidence of botulism contamination in the totally perfect environment oil packed foods contain. I personally would include nut butters in this group. A week in the refrigerator is not going to inhibit the growth of botulism. LABELING is very important. First of all you want your customer to come back to your booth, or call you with special orders. The FDA has labeling regs – it is just common sense to include them with your product. Fancy name of product, common name of product, ingredients in descending order, facility name, location and phone number, weight, preparation date or code. Be sure that you note on everything canned that it must be refrigerated after opening, and include an expiration date, and that should including fresh baked goods. That is for your own protection from lawsuits. If you are looking for more information about preparing home-prepared foods for sale or personal use - please visit the HARVEST FORUM here on GW. It mostly concerns home-canned and preserved foods and has a wealth of information in current and past posts, plus, lots of recipes and discussions about recipes found on the web. http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/harvest/
Another resource is the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP). It is our go-to for any type of food preservation and even includes many great tasting and safety proven recipes. I also suggest you peruse the University of Georgia’s book "So Easy To Preserve". FDA blessed. Recipes are not copyrighted, even yours, so it is totally OK to use the safe ones, just don’t expect that Grandma’s recipe, or the one you’ve used for 50 years is OK to sell to the general public. Nancy the nancedar |
