I wanted to know the experiences of those of you that sell jams/jellies/relishes or breads or other foods at farmer's markets. What are the requirements where you live? I know these will vary--but in planning a future extra kitchen, I would like to know what things to consider (doors, food storage, vents, fire safety?).

Locally the health inspector has been inconsistent with this. I've heard that unless you are selling your product on a store shelf (as opposed to at a farmer's market) you don't have the stringent requirements and may cook in your regular kitchen.

Any problems with inspection?

Anyone been sued because of food they sold?

Any other thoughts? What kind of food sells best at farmer's markets?

I've searched the archives for "commercial" "kitchens" and "requirements" but couldn't find anything. If you know of any previous threads--please tell me (nicely:)

Thanks in advance

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), March 18, 2002

Answers

Each state has different requirements-----you have to contact your own health dept of your state for the requiremnets---they will have a written list or even a book stateing exactly what is needed to be legal----inspectors can be pains in the rear---if they want to be----

I once had an inspector who took points off my inspection for haveing platic spray bottles in a sack that I had just bought & were not labeled with what I was going to put inside of them-----it didn't matter they were new & still in the sack & not used yet-----

Commerical kitchens all have to follow the same written out laws---& each state is different---from health to fire codes who each have different inspectors!!

Each inspector can either be fair---or make your life miserable depending on their mood for the day!!!!

I have had inspectors who were very helpful & others who were just pains ---no matter what----

Commerical kitchens are not cheap--------so you have to look at it as a true business----if you expect to be successful!!!

I have a friend who rents our her commerical kitchen to some other people to do their cooking in her off hours-----I never wanted anyone else but my employees in my kitchen----becaues of the insurance & others not following my rules or being as clean---as I was---

I hope this helps!

-- Sonda in Ks. (sgbruce@birch.net), March 18, 2002.

Check with your state health department they should give you a list of requirements. You may be able to use an existing one if you want to process food items. In MN any food products to be consumed for other than family or friends has to come from a certified kitchen.

-- Sherry (tlnifty@ecenet.com), March 18, 2002.

Remember that if you use your extra kitchen as a kitchen for a business, you can deduct your equipment & other costs on your taxes! This can be a big help!

-- heather (h.m.metheny@att.net), March 18, 2002.

Hi Ann,

You may want to check in your town or a town near by to see if they have a certified community kitchen. Our local town has one. I am going to check it out and see what is involed with using it. I know in IL, people who wanted to use certified kitchens had to take a short course on basic hygene and food preparation and be certified. Basically everything sold in the way of "prepared food" (baked goods, jams, jellies etc.) all had to be prepared in a certified kitchen, by a certified person. I don't know if the same is true here in WA. The classes were offered through the local community college. Like the otheres have said, check with your local laws and find out what is required in your particular area. Darlene

-- Darlene in W WA (tomdarsavy@cs.com), March 18, 2002.

Also make sure your pets are outside, especially cats. A friendly cat jumping on the counter to greet your visitor (inspector) is not going to help you.....:)

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), March 18, 2002.

Contact your state dept. of ag & consumer protection. They are the only ones that can give you the definitive answers to your questions. In Wisconsin they were very helpful and sent me a lot of information and the actual laws and regulations related to this. I may have gone through a few people before I got to the helpful ones, but eventually I did. They also have a website. The short story is that here in Wisconsin you have to have a completely separate kitchen if you're going to do this or use an approved kitchen. This can be as simple as your local church or community center kitchen. They are all inspected and sometimes you can rent or use them for a day to do your baking or canning. I've been selling baked goods at farm markets for years and have had no problems. The larger farm markets require to see some kind of proof that you prepared your goods in an approved kitchen, but the smaller ones don't. They're much pickier about canned goods than baked items, as they should be. The only person that ever gave me a hassle about doing this was my insurance agent when I was selling Thanksgiving pies one year. He went on and on about how I could be sued if someone got sick from one of my pies. Yes, I guess he had a valid point. Said the same thing about me selling eggs. The state people told me that sending out bake sale police is pretty far down on their list and the incidence of illness from home baked goods was almost non-existent. My best sellers are homemade breads baked with organic ingredients and apple and pumpkin pies. We use homegrown ingredients as much as we possibly can, because we believe in the goodness of what we grow and to keep the preparation costs as low as possible. I prepare everything for sale as if we were going to eat it ourselves and we are pretty picky. We have never had a complaint, but a lot of requests for more! It's a lot of work, but if you enjoy baking, it can be a good source of income.

-- rose marie wild (wintersongfarm@yahoo.com), March 18, 2002.

It varies a lot from state to state. What you will generally find. MOST homes will NOT meet commerical codes for mass food production and still maintain a home look. Your kitchen cabinets will need to be replaced with industrial easy to clean metal cabinets. Counter tops will need to be stainless steal. Floor will need to be tile and have a center drain for hosing off the floor.

Also keep in mind your Home insurance will most likley not cover "commerical cooking" in your home.

T

-- Gary in Ohio (gws@columbus.rr.com), March 18, 2002.

It even varies from county to county. Friends of ours got everything approved, bought commercial bake ovens and had them installed in their house. Then they bought a property about 2 miles away, across the county line. They discovered that they would be required to house the kitchen in a separate building.

-- Joyce Dingman (joycedingman@yahoo.com), March 18, 2002.

Hi Ann, although I've never had a commercial kitchen at home, we did own a small restaurant in Tennessee. Here are a few of the things the inspectors look for....Refrig has to be 40 degrees or lower. Have a thermometer hanging in there so they can read it. Hot foods, above 140. They were picky about can openers and slicers, have to be clean. No metal cans in fridg. and everything must be covered in the refrigerator, plastic wrap is ok to use. No cleaners or chemicals in food prep area. One time we thought we were doing so good because he couldn't find anything. We were wrong....he marked us off for a small crack in the plastic covering on the florescent light fixture on the ceiling. We had some wood shelves in the kitchen. Dave said they're getting more lienient about this, we were never marked off for them, but you better check your area to be sure. We had stainless counter tops, but also a plastic chopping board that was removable and had to be bleached.

Before you purchase any equipment, check out used restaurant equipment supply houses. You can get it for pennies on the dollar. The stoves are simply made and not alot to go wrong with them. There's alot of restaurants going out of business and they always have good used equipment for sale. Good luck!

-- Annie (mistletoe6@earthlink.net), March 18, 2002.

To be a tax deduction it will have to be a seperate kitchen not used for personal or family use. In our area it also has to be completely closed off from the rest of the house. I had two friends that tried it but gave up. As for your insurance home owners does not cover any commercial projects, that means something you do for a profit. Any thing goes wrong you have no coverage. Burn down your house with a fire in the kitchen and they figure out you were cooking a small meal for your family of 200 fried pies and 50 loafs of bread in your commercial kitchen with a state approved health certificate and your dead. I can not charge for hunting on my property, to do so would void my homeowners. Don't get cute and lose everything you have worked for trying to beat the system. Now with the computers they can find out wheather you have a certified kitchen with the tap of a key. If you want to do it do it right and sleep easier, cut corners and stress out.

-- David in North Al. (bluewaterfarm@mindspring.com), March 19, 2002.

Many churches and fraternal organizations have kitchens, and I think these are mostly commercial kitchens. You might be able to arrange to use one at particular times for a given fee. Just as a possible alternative.

-- Laura Jensen (lauraj@seedlaw.com), March 19, 2002.

Churches and fraternal organisations, yes. Also think golf clubs. Often they are open real early for people to tee off from dawn onwards, but the rest of their facilities aren't in solid use until at least getting towards lunch. They might be open to offers with a trial period first to make sure you leave things acceptable.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), March 19, 2002.