artwork Starting a Salsa Company in California Help

T

TheHector

Hello Mates,
 
A partner and I are in the process of setting up a Salsa company in California, but have had trouble finding out what permits we need and also what info needs to be displayed on the containers (Label, Nutrition). We are planning to start locally at Farmers Markets then move into online sales. 
 
I am Currently waiting for my PH tester to arrive to find out if this is something we can bottle ourselves or have a bottler do. 
 
At this point we are assuming that our recipe will not be acidic enough. ( This is our biggest hurdle) 
 
Thanks for the Help guys. 
 
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Lucky Dog Hot Sauce would be the person I'd turn to for help with California permits and farmers markets.  Best of luck to you.
 
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OKGrowin said:
you can dump some citric acid in there to get the desired acidity. No idea on the rest lol (business liscense, food handlers license i'm sure)
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I have never played with Citric Acid. Do you know if that would change the taste? 
SmokenFire said:
Lucky Dog Hot Sauce would be the person I'd turn to for help with California permits and farmers markets.  Best of luck to you.
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Sweet I will definitely Send him a message. 
 
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Read this entire thread... http://thehotpepper.com/topic/27251-lets-say-you-want-to-go-commercial-what-considerations-are-needed/

Or at least the first page. LOL


Thanks Scott
Call your local health dept - they'll point you to all the dot-gov pages with the best info. I'm afraid I don't know from salsa, but that's the best place to start to get accurate and directed information. :cheers:


Yeah i will visit my local health department tomorrow during my lunch ( 2 job hustle, limited time)

I will post on what info i get.
Thanks
 
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TheHector said:
Thanks Scott

Yeah i will visit my local health department tomorrow during my lunch ( 2 job hustle, limited time)

I will post on what info i get.
Thanks
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Welcome - that link Scovie posted is good too - I've posted an awful lot about my own experience in CA on that topic...as have others with experience in other states.  Great place to start is to read those pages too. 
 
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I sell a refrigerated salsa.  It's a fresh/refrigerated product which is totally different than shelf-stable jarred products. 
 
Start with your local health district.  If you want to sell at a local Farmers Market ( which is a GREAT!!!!!!!! place to start!!!!!!) .....contact the market and they should be able to direct you to the health authority that inspects the market.  That's who you need to work with first!
 
Just call them and ask "I want to sell salsa at the market, what do I need to do?  Where can I process?"
 
 
 
Once you get to the "shelf stable' realm, that's a whole other ball game and usually entails co-packers. 
 
Start Local with your local health inspectors.  They'll tell you what you need to get into local markets.  Regulations are different so start with your local health people. 
 
Good Luck and Have FUN!
 
SL
 
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salsalady said:
I sell a refrigerated salsa.  It's a fresh/refrigerated product which is totally different than shelf-stable jarred products. 
 
Start with your local health district.  If you want to sell at a local Farmers Market ( which is a GREAT!!!!!!!! place to start!!!!!!) .....contact the market and they should be able to direct you to the health authority that inspects the market.  That's who you need to work with first!
 
Just call them and ask "I want to sell salsa at the market, what do I need to do?  Where can I process?"
 
 
 
Once you get to the "shelf stable' realm, that's a whole other ball game and usually entails co-packers. 
 
Start Local with your local health inspectors.  They'll tell you what you need to get into local markets.  Regulations are different so start with your local health people. 
 
Good Luck and Have FUN!
 
SL
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I called a couple of Farmers Markets here in San Diego and Received some good information. I know is different in every state and county But I received a really good link from a Farmers Market in Imperial Beach CA. http://imperialbeachfarmersmarket.org/Imperial_Beach_Farmers_Market/VENDOR_INFO.html
 
As Salsa Lady Stated you can actually start selling your Salsa without having to bottle it as long as you Make it in a commercial inspected kitchen. You need to also Get a Temporary Food Facility Permit Link : http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/deh/food/pdf/publications_specevent_vendor.pdf
 
You will also need the Obvious a CA food Handlers card and also someone, either the owner or another employee be Food Safety Certified 
 
Like I mentioned I am no expert and Also am Figuring this out. Please Visit your local County Health Department
 
 
Salsa Lady, They Mentioned that the Hot Sauce needed to be in a Food Grade Container. I then asked well what about Mason Jars? and they gave me the run around with "Sir any food Grade container " No definite answer there. I know that mason jars are food grade but I would not want the health inspector to come around and fine us thinking that we are selling a Bottled Product because it is a Mason Jar. What do you utilize for your sales with the Fresh Salsa?
 
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TheHector said:
 
As Salsa Lady Stated you can actually start selling your Salsa without having to bottle it as long as you Make it in a commercial inspected kitchen. You need to also Get a Temporary Food Facility Permit
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I'm not sure that's all that's entailed - you also need the following:
CA State seller's permit
Food handler's card
Product may be subject to state inspection, especially for a fresh prepared non-stable product that requires continuous refrigeration
Health dept will want to see your sampling methods, packaging & likely the vehicle you're transporting it in & also any off-site storage if applicable

You might get away with using a couple of coolers if your scale is small, but don't assume that all you'll need is a food handler'a card - food safety is key.

Liability insurance is another major consideration, as well as a health permit for the county in question. Annual permits vary county to county - one of mine is $280 a year, the other is $408. Some counties in CA require an application/processing fee.

Insurance has been discussed on a few topics - in a nutshell I'll say this: maybe the market org will require it, maybe they won't - but only a complete fool would attempt to sell a packaged food product in CA without (at minumum) 1 million dollars in product liability coverage.

And depending on the county you might also encounter the following:
Fire-rated tent
Sandbags/weights for tent
A fire extinguisher (even without a kitchen - I have one because of my San Rafael night market)
Handwashing station to spec
Nitrile gloves
Allergen information posted
Price signs posted
Ingredients statement on label
Net weight on label

Not saying all is required. I'm in NCAL and most of this applies to my hot sauce business. Might e better in SCAL - it can vary county to county, market to market and even inspector to inspector.


It's why I so strongly recommend speaking to the county health inspector. They'll be happy to talk to you - it's what they get paid for in part. They'll provide you with all the applicable information to a much better degree if accuracy than a market org or vendor. The state is the party that enforces the regulations - get guidelines from the horse's mouth or you're setting yourself up for failure. It's a free call - why not just start there? :cheers:
 
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Mason jars are a food grade container, sounds like the person you spoke with needed a break~
 
I use clear plastic 16oz tubs, like sour cream or cottage cheese tubs, but clear.  There are a few different brands and most food service supply stores carry them in 8oz, 16 oz, 32oz sizes.  They run ~ .25 each (mine are a little more but cheaper ones are out there) compared to ~1.00 for mason jars ...not to mention being a whole lot lighter!!! :lol:
 
Some use rectangle deli tubs that have a flip-over lid attached...like what the deli counter would put their salads in.  And there are plastic jars with plastic lids available on many container supply websites.  I've found the best priced and most convenient are what's at the restaurant supply stores like Bargreens, Cash&Carry...not sure what's in CA.
 
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And I'll +++ to what LuckyDog said about working with your local food authority, also known as the AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction). 
 
Where I live,.... if I only wholesale to stores with my products, that's considered WHOLESALING and my licensing authority is the Washington State Dept of Agriculture.
If I want to RETAIL my salsa (such as selling directly to the customer at a Farmers Market)...My County dictates that I also have to have my processing kitchen (which is already STATE licensed) to also be licensed by my COUNTY health district......to the tune of about an additional  $500.....
 
Elsewhere in WA state, if you have a state DeptofAG license, that's good enough for the farmers market people. 
 
Verbage is key when talking with food people...A refrigerated salsa is not the same as a shelf stable hot sauce.  Make sure who you're talking with knows the difference of a refrigerated salsa and a bottled shelf stable hot sauce.    
 
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hottoddy said:
Make sure to put the new cover sheet on the TPS reports before they go out. I didn't see the memo about that and had to hear about it from eight different bosses.
 
;)
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Sadly that's not too far of when working with the gob'ment. Food is serious business - everything changed after the consumer protection laws went on the books.

I'd love to be Pollyanna and blow bubble gum scented fairy dust up people ass, but sadly it's just not all sunshine & butterflies.

"I see you've been missing a lot of work lately."
 
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Happy Fourth of July,
 
I havent been on here in a while. But wanted to give you an update.
 
Company Finally has a Logo we have not showcased yet.
 
We are in the process of obtaining our Sales permits and also register with the Health county office
 
Chose a county approved Kitchen and plan to start production next month. 
 
Registered name
 
Have insurance. 
 
Are handing out samples with our Promotional materials
 
http://www.wassumatta.com is our domain which is currently just our FB page 
 
and are doing a lot of work on the Social Media Marketing side.
 
We are also currently running a Gofundme Campaign at http://www.wassumattahotsauce.com
 
Haha been a lot of work but i am excited to start selling at the farmers market. 
 
Thoughts?
 
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sauce looks good and the story looks good.  Most Funding Campaigns offer gifts/rewards for different levels of sponsorship.  Sometime that expense can be factored into the money needed (added on to the actual amount needed).  Any plans of offering rewards?  or does this funding site not support that?
 
Good Luck, and it's great to see you moving forward with the business.
 
salsalady
 
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Yes, Gofundme does allow for gifts incentives. I think we are going to need to offer that seeing that contributions are a little low. Crazy thing that happens in business sometimes you expect a completely different result. I though my friends and Family were going to contribute and help but no go as of yet. But hey I'm not trying to get emotional about it, since it is business, but just looking for different ways to fund this project. (Pulling from Retirement accounts)
 
We will see. But extremely excited. Ohhhhh and logo Check it out! Updated FB page with Logo
 
 
http://www.wassumatta.com
 
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