Let's say you want to go commercial... what considerations are needed?

-Pablo-

-Pablo-

What sorts of things are needed for taking a hot sauce to the commercial market in the USA? Besides a business license obviously.

Do you need FDA stamps of approval? I found this... http://www.fda.gov/F...ies/default.htm

Where do the Nutritional Information stickers come from?

What about health inspections of prep area, how is that conducted?

Are there procedural guidelines that must be followed from a regulatory standpoint?

What about Patents?

I have a few recipes that I'd like to take to the commercial market, but I definitely want to make sure I'm minding my p's and q's.
 
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Make sure you have a means of hot packing. This will require some sort of liquid bottle filler.

There are small hand pump models that will work.

Uptown has a great little 30-35 gallon kettle but you need to go from the kettle to the bottle at 160-180 degrees, from the 1st bottle to the last.
:cheers:

They're really nice folks - ask about a discount if you're willing to commit to x# of hours a month.

And yes - as I understand it you can make several batches over a few weeks and have them inspect all at once. They will sample bottles from every batch and check your process documentation resulting from every batch.

But I think that's correct. Don't take my word for
It - contact the CA process authority. Your county health dept/health inspector should know.
 
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Tomorrow I will assess their equipment and figure out the hot fill situation.  (it makes better sense to me) It would be great if I can do it that way instead of pressure canning.  I'm hoping my product does not require it therefore I can focus on filling more bottles. Tonight I'm going to be looking for a PH meter that way I can test the ph and do the hot fill. As of now (at home) I pressure cook the for safety since I don't have a meter. 
 
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This topic is in the Food Biz section and the title is- "let's say you want to go commercial.."  Please take the following comments as business related and not personal.
 
The specialty food business is a huge, regulated industry.  You can't just "Play along" out of a home kitchen.  If a person wants to get in the game, they need to get legal.  A HUGE part of getting in the game is UNDERSTANDING the game.  
 
If you don't know or understand pH and shelf life of your sauce...that's a disadvantage.  Co-packers will try to change your process saying "it's not important to roast the vegetables, let's just boil them!" and if you don't know the difference or how it makes veggies taste...your sauce is screwed!  
 
Sauce makers need to get a basic understanding of all aspects of making their sauce or contact someone like Ca'John's and they will craft a sauce to your specifications... for a fee. Which is expected!  Co-packers will hold your hand through the whole process for a fee.  I totally agree that the "fee" is subjective and negotiable when talking about test batches  etc.  The more you know=$ in your pocket.
 
Raul, if your product's pH is in a good range, you can hot fill your chunky salsa into wide mouthed jars and be good to go (per your PA's approval!).
 
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Thank you SL. As of right now my PH level should be fine but I like to take as many safety steps as possible to cover my butt as much as possible but more importantly to have a safe for consumption product without any doubts. That's the reason why I acidify my food and pressure can it. I guess the issue for me doing hot fill would be that I would like to minimize the amount of vinegar I currently use and develop a much better flavor and not so acidified.I feel that what I have right now it's good to go and I'm just going to go with it. My mind just keeps on spinning with information about changing my recipe etc. But I guess I'll just start with what I have and develop other salsas later, or if I need to change the procedure just re-submit my paperwork to the PA for further approval. Also let me apologize if my information is redundant or annoying to a certain point. I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of the program but for some reason I keep asking and researching because I'm new to this and because I want to do it the right way. With that said thank you once again for your input. I have to say it has helped me move forward from the hole I was stuck in.  

I forgot to mentioned that the salsa I'm making at "home"  (uncert. commercial kitchen with home canning equipment) is not for me to sale. I have been making it for sampling only. I'm not sure if it makes a difference but I steered away from selling it. 
 
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I would reverse that thought process. There are thousands of salsas - many of them excellent, many many more crappy. There's a challenge in CA that just about every taqueria and Mexican market has a house salsa an many of those are fantastic. Also many people here make their own salsas. So to sell salsa it had better be terrific.

Hone your recipe and be excellent, THEN consider going pro.

If you put out a salsa that's pretty good that you know needs to be better you're going to fail. No one who tried your pretty good salsa is going to give your next gen product a chance.

A: "Hey, have you tried that XYZ brand salsa?"
B: "Yeah, it was pretty good. Nowhere near as good as brands 1 though 37 on the same store shelf"
A: really? I'm gonna buy a case!

- no conversation ever.

Start with crafting a product. Something you love. Once you love it, see if others agree. Once that happens, then start considering going commercial with it.

If you're unsure of your recipe, don't sell it. You sound a lot like you're unsure.

As an example, I spent almost 8 years working on my recipes. I have 6 flavors - and for every flavor launched there are 10-20 recipes in my shredder because they weren't good enough. My last two recipes for Pink & Purple Labels were ones I'd had for years - but it took me about a year of tweaking the recipes to find the balance I was looking for.

Don't make a product because you want to make a product - make something great that people will want to eat. That takes a lot of time and energy and passion.

Good luck
 
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I agree with you LDHS. I would like to provide you with a sample if you don't mind, I would like your professional opinion. Do you think we can arrange something, ie an address where I can ship you a bottle? Thank you in advance.
 
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To be honest I'm probably not the best person to ask. For one I'm doing a lot less chips & salsa, and for another I have so much spicy food product at home that it would take a really long time for me to get to it. I had to make a rule for myself to not open anything else until I've killed off 2-3 in my fridge. It's that bad right now. lol
 
There are many, many folks here at THP who will take you up on it I'm sure. Post in the Promotions or Hot Pepper Talk - guaranteed people will take you up on it. But I thank you for the offer! 
:cheers: 
 
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