commercial-kichen Resturante not an approved kitchen for canning?

AJ Drew

AJ Drew

There is a hundred or so year old grocery store / dinner down the street.  In the back, they have an open kitchen.  I love it because you can see the person cooking and talk to them.  Its a real newspaper on each table sort of place.  Mom and pop to the extreme.  They are completely legit with health code according to the certificate posted on their door.  I drop produce off there like I do for my neighbors, just to be neighborly.
 
So we got to talking about hot pepper jelly.  The husband half of the dinner explained that they asked the health inspector if they would make it in their kitchen and sell it on their counters.  Nope and with a twist.  Even though it is an inspected commercial kitchen, they can not use it to produce under the cottage laws because it is not their home / farm kitchen so they can not sell under cottage exemptions.

I think I am starting to understand the way the health laws work and I apologize for being so very confused previously.  Please check me on this.  There isn't really such a thing as a 'commercial kitchen' or an 'approved facility' as a blanket term.  Your facility has to be approved for a specific genre of food production yes?  That is, you could have the cleanest nicest modern kitchen for your restaurant, but to make something shelf stable you have to be approved to make that shelf stable item.

Is this correct?
 
 
 
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generally, the local restaurant inspector is not the inspector to license canned/processed/shelf stable products.  I bet if they contact the state dept of ag they could get licensed.  Do a google search for "Kentucky food processor licensing"and see what comes up.  Quick call to the Dept of Ag should get you to the right department.
 
The Dept of Ag may have some stipulations like...the processing must be done outside of restaurant hours so there is no risk of cross contaminations or something.  I know of several people who use restaurants after hours.
 
edit- 30 seconds and google...
http://chfs.ky.gov/nr/rdonlyres/cc5df026-6a6a-412b-ba25-59e9dda2ff86/0/foodmanufacturingbrochure01_14.pdf
 
 
quick scan reads that if the majority of sales are retail (directly to the customer which is what the restaurant would be doing) the licensing would likely come through the local health district.  If the local person is already being a hard-ass and not going to work with the restaurant, the next sentance says "those selling accross state lines need to be FDA registered" which is usually done through a state inspector.  I'd suggest the restaurant not even deal with the local inspector and go straight to the state under the premise they intend to do internet sales of the jelly also.
 
The above pdf talks about approved kitchens and lists restaurants after hours, church, community extensions service kitchens as commercial kitchen options.  I've found that a LOT of county/city health inspectors only know restaurants.  They don't knwo squat about commercial processing.  Definitley get in touch with the state.  It's what they do...
 
It's a bit of paperwork to get FDA registered but if I and RedHawk Peppers can do it on our own..... :lol:....
 
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