Virginia Passed the Pickle Bill!!!!! YEEEEEHAAAAAW!!

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Sweetness!! Hopefully Florida will follow suit soon, since I wouldn't mind selling some of my products at local FM's without having to pay through the nose & go through co-packers first
 
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elcap1999 said:
Sweetness!! Hopefully Florida will follow suit soon, since I wouldn't mind selling some of my products at local FM's without having to pay through the nose & go through co-packers first
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florida you can sell up to $15000 at markets without commercial kitchen. you only need business license your scales checked by someone from the state and proper labeling of ingredients on product. that doesnt let you sell out of state though!
 
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sicman said:
florida you can sell up to $15000 at markets without commercial kitchen. you only need business license your scales checked by someone from the state and proper labeling of ingredients on product. that doesnt let you sell out of state though!
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Hrm... I thought that since salsas, hot sauces, etc., were acidic, they didn't fall under that rule in FL, and you needed a co-packer regardless of how much/little you sold?

If I can sell up to $15k a year, then would you happen to have the info of the contact folks to do the scale certifications, etc.?
 
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:woohoo: Virginia!!!

Many states are adopting "cottage industry" policies. Most are pretty specific in what's allowed and what's not. Ya just gotta check with your local health authorities.
 
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elcap1999 said:
Hrm... I thought that since salsas, hot sauces, etc., were acidic, they didn't fall under that rule in FL, and you needed a co-packer regardless of how much/little you sold?

If I can sell up to $15k a year, then would you happen to have the info of the contact folks to do the scale certifications, etc.?
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what you want to do is join fresh from florida. just search it for info,or call 18004357352. this is a awesome program. the department of agg.does your scales so you can call them,i dont have the number on me. in florida anyone selling anything by weight is suppose to have thier scales checked once a year.people are also suppose to have plants checked before shipping in the usa,and recieve special stamps but i see every day people on this forum selling plants and im sure they are doing it illegal style. i had some dick message me about my powder being expensive cause he gives a little away every year. im sure he would want me to pay him if i needed his services though. sorry ill stop rambling. anyways your local extension office also has all the info on the cottage thing.
 
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sicman said:
what you want to do is join fresh from florida. just search it for info,or call 18004357352. this is a awesome program. the department of agg.does your scales so you can call them,i dont have the number on me. in florida anyone selling anything by weight is suppose to have thier scales checked once a year.people are also suppose to have plants checked before shipping in the usa,and recieve special stamps but i see every day people on this forum selling plants and im sure they are doing it illegal style. i had some dick message me about my powder being expensive cause he gives a little away every year. im sure he would want me to pay him if i needed his services though. sorry ill stop rambling. anyways your local extension office also has all the info on the cottage thing.
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Cool, I'll check them out, thanks!
 
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So wont the state have to inspect your kitchen?

From what I've heard they can still deny individuals based on pet ownership, not having doors on your kitchen, hygiene, etc. and the product itself will still have to be submitted as a prototype & be classified, no? They'll want to know hold time & temperature, pH of individual ingredients, pH in solution.

Finally, won't you have to get a food manager's cert? In CA (and other states) you need to be both in a certified kitchen and make the product under the supervision of a CFM.

Hmm...

I think y'all better look into this deeper before selling anything. I don't know VA's law, and could certainly be mistaken, but it seems like it only authorizes you to make acidified product at home - I don't think it elimanates any of the other requirements?

Be safe: check with the state process authority to see what they say.

Please do post here when you know more!!
 
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Hot sauce = no. It goes with canned/pickled/salsas/BBQ Sauce

Pretty weak. Sorry folks in VA

And again - even if it did apply you'd still be to get the kitchen certified, get $2M liability ins, etc,

But it woulda been nice to see this apply to saucemakers.
:(
 
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Congrats Virginia!
 
Virginia’s cottage food laws are somewhat restrictive, since a producer can only sell from farmers markets and their home.  Fortunately, they recently amended the law to allow most cottage food products, so the law is now unrestricted in most other ways. Cottage food operations don’t need to get a license or kitchen inspection, and most products don’t have a sales limit (only $3,000 of pickled products and 250 gallons of honey are allowed per year).
However, unlike most states, Virginia allows producers to take the next step and get a license to become a home food processor.  This requires many more steps and some fees, but it does allow a processor to sell almost any type of food from their home.
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source: http://cottagefoods.org/laws/
 
(Cool site!)
 
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So reading through that the only thing people save is the facility cost, and that's IF
1. Your kitchen passes state PA inspection
2. You get your canner's certs 
 
And I'm assuming the process of state holding/clearing your acidified products will still apply. 
 
So yeah - for a lot of things this is awesome. Relevant to hot sauce you just don't rent a kitchen, which granted saves $15-18/hr. But only when you've jumped through all the same hoops. More actually since when you rent a kitchen, the kitchen manager can be the licensed cannery (e.g. I can go rent a commercial kitchen and make an acidified product without my canning license provided the kitchen manager is licensed, as I'll be under their guidance/supervision)
 
So in some ways it's harder to do it at home, but you do save the kitchen rental fees. I guess that's a victory of sorts? 
 
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Lucky Dog Hot Sauce said:
So in some ways it's harder to do it at home, but you do save the kitchen rental fees. I guess that's a victory of sorts? 
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In some ways, yeah, since I know for FL at least, most commercial kitchens won't give you the time of day unless you've already got a business registered, have insurance with them listed as a co-insurer, and willing to pay $1200 up front, and a $1000 a month
 
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elcap1999 said:
In some ways, yeah, since I know for FL at least, most commercial kitchens won't give you the time of day unless you've already got a business registered, have insurance with them listed as a co-insurer, and willing to pay $1200 up front, and a $1000 a month
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Yeah - good point. Forgot about the deposit & having to have an established business. :cheers:
 
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As well as the insurance. Most of the places I've checked out here require at least $1 million in insurance :)
 
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 I've never worked with shared use kitchen with regs and deposits like what you guys are describing.  Requiring processors using a shared use facility to be fully licensed is standard and understandable.  $1200 deposit and $1000 a month ??? :eek:  YIKES! 
 
We had a by-the-hour rate, and for a while, there were enough of us food processors using the facility to make it financially viable.  After a couple years, users dwindled away, and the community kitchen closed. 
 
Keep looking for other options/kitchens if the numbers don't pan out.    
 
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