PROCEDURE FOR STARTUP PRODUCTION OF ACIDIFIED FOODS
This procedure is for use by people who want to produce and sell food products that are acidified such as pickled items.
1) Send me a sample of your product so I can determine the pH (degree of acidity). To be classified as an acidified food, the food must have a pH of 4.6 or less, usually accomplished with the use of an acid like citric acid or vinegar. My address for shipping the sample is below.
2) Now you must consider where you will make this product. Home kitchens are totally unacceptable. Most restaurants are not approved for producing food for sell outside the front door. You can go to your county sanitarian officed in the County Health Department for information on requirements for manufacturing for sale. The contact at the Arkansas Department of Health is Randy Carter (800/482-5400 ext 2809).
3) In order to manufacture acidified food products, at least one person on each shift has to have attended the Better Process Control School in Fayetteville the first week of November each year. Cost is about $400/ per person. Call Mike Heilman (479/575-4040) in September for additional information. This is a federal law.
4) You have to register your facility and process with the FDA ( Food & Drug Administration). This can be accomplished by filling out forms 2541 ( Facilities Registration) and 2541a ( Process Registration) This forms and directions for filling them out can be obtained on-line at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/lacf-s1.html. Look under Parts II and III.
5) Although not a federal requirement, most retailers and customers require a Nutritional Label. I can put one together for you free if you fill out the form. Click here.
6) If your goal is to make money, I suggest that you spend your time and effort on sales and marketing your food product idea and leave the manufacturing up to a copacker. A copacker is a person who will manufacture the food product for you at a price most times cheaper than you can do it yourself. You can skip steps 2-5 above by contacting a copacker and letting him manufacture it for you. One copacker in Arkansas called “Taste Buds LLC” is located in Benton, AR (John Beck 501/315-8800) can do all the above for you at a reasonable cost allowing you the time to sell your product.
7) After you have had samples made of your product, go and sell. You should start selling to small companies at first, possibly to students for fund raising projects or local food retailer. When you get this far, give me a call.
8) If you want to learn more about food science or industry, I have 2 websites available.
http://www.uark.edu/ua/foodpro - This website lists the various services we provide. Also the Food Information Index portion has a number of excellent resources available.
http://www.uark.edu/ua/foodedu - This website only works if you have high-speed internet. It consists of 41 food related 1 hour modules if instruction on food science and industry.
CONTACT INFORMATION;
Name; Steve Seideman
Title; Extension Food Processing Specialist
Telephone; 479/575-4221
Fax; 479/575-2165
Email: seideman@uark.edu
Institute of Food Science & Engineering
2650 North Young Ave
Fayetteville AR, 72704