I'm starting a hot sauce biz in Florida. I have completed some of steps required, but was looking for someone who has been through this process in Florida for some advice and clarity. Thanks.
Florida Hot Sauce?
- Thread starter Wicked Pepper
- Start date
BakersPeppers
Banned
From Land O' Lakes, FL!Glad to see another addition to the hot sauce community!
The folks here are great! Plenty of info too!Dale Jr
Thanks Dale,
Im a new member but very familiar with the site. Just figured I finally sign up. Great site, have always visited when looking for info on peppers, hot sauce, etc. I also am in the final steps of being able to sell some sauce and was trying to find someone in Florida that had been through the process and used a commercial kitchen instead of bottler. My main question was whether I needed to take Better Process Control School class or if that was for people setting up their own facilities. Just was hoping to pick their brain.
Reggie
Im a new member but very familiar with the site. Just figured I finally sign up. Great site, have always visited when looking for info on peppers, hot sauce, etc. I also am in the final steps of being able to sell some sauce and was trying to find someone in Florida that had been through the process and used a commercial kitchen instead of bottler. My main question was whether I needed to take Better Process Control School class or if that was for people setting up their own facilities. Just was hoping to pick their brain.
Reggie
salsalady
Business Member
Reggie,Your Process Authority will dictate if BPCS certification is needed by the processor. It depends on the ingredients in the sauce, whether there's high risk items (like dairy, meat) what the pH of the sauce is, etc.
It's best to start your licensing process by contacting your local health district. Licensing will be dependent on where you live, where you process, and where you'll be selling, and every state/county/city is different. Your local health authorities will tell you what's needed.
And just to save time and confusion, your local AHJ is different than the PA.
Step 1-get your recipe dialed in to the gram, make it over and over, GIVE it away (don't sell it), get more feedback. When you are SURE you're happy with the sauce, proceed to Step 2.
Step 2- work in conjunction with your local health authority. Find out what they will require for licensing for your sauce. If it's a 100% vinegar sauce, they may not require a Process Authority review. If it's pH questionable or it has high risk ingredients, they will likely request a review by a Process Authority.
Step 3- Send samples to the PA, they'll review the sauce, etc and either approve or deny the process/ingredients, suggest changes, etc.
Step 4- the local AHJ will enforce what the PA has dictated for processing. The processing can be done by the copacker, or by yourself.
Hope this helps. Good Luck and Have Fun!!!
salsalady
Hey Reggie,
Yeah, listen to Ann, salsalady, she's been like a mentor tome as I try and work my way through it all. Florida I'm finding out is pretty strict about low acid foods, makes things a little more difficult to do but also protects us in the long run. Are you opening your own facility or using a rental kitchen? The kitchen at our church is a commercial kitchen, we also operate a day care and it was a requirement, so I'm in the process of working out the detail to use it while managing the other requirements.
Good luck on your endeavor!
RM
Yeah, listen to Ann, salsalady, she's been like a mentor tome as I try and work my way through it all. Florida I'm finding out is pretty strict about low acid foods, makes things a little more difficult to do but also protects us in the long run. Are you opening your own facility or using a rental kitchen? The kitchen at our church is a commercial kitchen, we also operate a day care and it was a requirement, so I'm in the process of working out the detail to use it while managing the other requirements.
Good luck on your endeavor!
RM
Reggie!We are a Florida based company, although we did opt for the co-packer route rather than the kitchen, mainly due to time constraints through our 'real' jobs (am sooo looking forward to the day the hot sauce can turn into a full time job).
Lucky Dog Hot Sauce said:Step 0: listen to Salsa Lady
Totally agree with this statement!
I wish you the best of luck and let me know if we can be of any help.
FP
Thanks for the info. I always thought Salsa Lady is like the fairy godmother of the site. I have a good beat on things, but sometimes offices kick you back and forth. It also just depends on the person you get on the phone. Sometimes it seems like they're not quite sure either. It's a little frustrating. I don't mind putting in the legwork, but it would be nice to have an exact step by step- maybe wishful thinking. I just want to get to making the sauce lol.
Rocketman - I'm going to use a commercial kitchen, but they are also a licensed restaurant and supposedly there is another dept. that regulates restaurants. I also was planning to grow the peppers myself, which brings additional steps into play. It never ends lol.
Well anyways for people thinking of selling hot sauce in FL, I found this link to be the closest thing to a step by step and best resource to start at: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy1225
Rocketman - I'm going to use a commercial kitchen, but they are also a licensed restaurant and supposedly there is another dept. that regulates restaurants. I also was planning to grow the peppers myself, which brings additional steps into play. It never ends lol.
Well anyways for people thinking of selling hot sauce in FL, I found this link to be the closest thing to a step by step and best resource to start at: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy1225
salsalady
Business Member
"fairy godmother"? 
thanks, [You get a pass on that one, Wicked Pepper, as you haven't been around long enough to see The Corrector in action. 
] 
Anyway, back on topic, there is a good bit of back and forth, and if the person you're talking to doesn't sound like they know what they're talking about, request to talk to someone else.
Lots of folks use restaurants for processing. For Washington state, the restaurant itself is regulated by the local (city or county) health department. The processor is licensed through the state Dept of Ag and DoA does inspections of the processor at the restaurant. Sometimes the state may have additional regulation the restaurant will have to do or hoops to jump through. Sometimes the restaurants don't want to deal with the extra headaches and won't let the processor work in the restaurant. it Happens. There's other places.
Keep at it though. Most of this stuff is one time headaches and once you;re licensed, it gets easier.
thanks, [You get a pass on that one, Wicked Pepper, as you haven't been around long enough to see The Corrector in action. ] Anyway, back on topic, there is a good bit of back and forth, and if the person you're talking to doesn't sound like they know what they're talking about, request to talk to someone else.
Lots of folks use restaurants for processing. For Washington state, the restaurant itself is regulated by the local (city or county) health department. The processor is licensed through the state Dept of Ag and DoA does inspections of the processor at the restaurant. Sometimes the state may have additional regulation the restaurant will have to do or hoops to jump through. Sometimes the restaurants don't want to deal with the extra headaches and won't let the processor work in the restaurant. it Happens. There's other places.
Keep at it though. Most of this stuff is one time headaches and once you;re licensed, it gets easier.