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This month's notes: May 2008: Spring is here!: strawberries are here in the deep South and are peaking or fading in California, Texas and Florida! Find a strawberry festival near you! And see mid summer Blueberry festivals here. Organic farms are still not common, but any that are, have the word ORGANIC by their name! Check out my easy canning directions, and canning equipment or How to make ice cream and ice cream making equipment and manuals
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Can I Sell My Home-Canned Jams and Other Preserves?

The production and sales of processed foods is governed by state and federal regulations. Each state is different, so proper advice is needed from a specialist in each state. Some states allow sales at farmer's markets of select foods; others prohibit sales altogether.

Preserving food for your own home (or non-commercial) use is not regulated; however, food preservation and processing for commercial purposes (i.e., for sale) is regulated. There are federal level regulations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (also USDA for meat and poultry products), state level regulations, and often county or city regulations. For a start, most states require that you have an inspected, licensed kitchen. Just meeting the physical requirements often means spending tens of thousands of dollars to convert your home kitchen.

Some home canners gone commercial get around this by renting a commercially licensed kitchen, such as a restaurant's kitchen, during their off-hours.

Even then, there are product liability issues. If one jerk claims that he found a mouse in your jar of jam, the legal defense could wipe you out.

People HAVE done it: Famous Amos, Mrs. Fields are a couple examples of ordinary people who decided to sell their homemade foods. But they also had a lot of legal advice and financial backing. See below for many more resources:

Processed Food Business Resources

First stop is to see what the U.S. FDA has to say at “Starting a Food Business”:
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/foodbiz.html

If you are wanting to sell canned, low-acid or acidified foods, also see “Acidified and Low-Acid Canned Foods”: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/lacf-toc.html
Search through some of the internet sites from Cooperative Extension Service programs or some other state-specific sites listed below. An excellent source is this web page from Penn State University Department of Food Science: http://foodsafety.cas.psu.edu/processor/resources.htm#Before
Contact your county Cooperative Extension Agent to locate a program in your state or contact your state university's Food Science program. See: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html for a clickable map of contacts who can lead you to the right person. (This site is maintained by USDA, not the NCHFP.)
Check your state's Department of Agriculture for resources. The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture maintain a web site with links to state departments of agriculture at: http://www.nasda.org/nasda/nasda/member_information/usmap.htm
Look for "Value Added" programs that encourage small scale processing of foods. An example of a value added process is when a strawberry grower turns his strawberries into jam. Many state university Extension or other agriculture programs, state departments of agriculture or rural development centers have value-added initiatives and assistance. An internet search using terms such as “valued added agriculture” generates a list of web sites.
Check to see if your state has an incubator kitchen program. Some states have programs that help entrepreneurs develop recipes to commercialize. These are usually test kitchens that share resources. Again, state Departments of Agriculture or a state university's food science department are good leads for finding incubator programs.
It is important to look for state-specific resources to help you know what regulations will apply to your situation. However, if you want to jump-start your thinking about whether a food processing business is right for you, this web page from Penn State University Department of Food Science has some links to helpful reading for early decision making: http://foodsafety.cas.psu.edu/processor/ent_res_text2.htm#Before

Cooperative Extension Program Links
State	Resources
Alabama	Starting A Food Processing Business? What You Should Know Before You Get Started (HE-753, New May 1998, Alabama Cooperative Extension System) http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/H/HE-0753/ (PDF version of above) http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/H/HE-0753/HE-0753.pdf
Alaska	State food safety contacts for Cooperative Extension Service, Alaska: http://www.idea.iastate.edu/foodsafety/state_contacts.asp?state_id=2
Arizona	Direct Farm Marketing and Tourism Handbook University of Arizona, Agricultural and Resource Economics: http://ag.arizona.edu/arec/pubs/dmkt/dmkt.html
California	University of California-Davis, UC Food Safety Website From Kitchen to Market Manufacturing Options Getting Started in the Food Business www.ucfoodsafety.ucdavis.edu
Colorado	State food safety contacts for Cooperative Extension Service, Colorado: http://www.idea.iastate.edu/foodsafety/state_contacts.asp?state_id=7
Conneticut	Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship (A Partnership of Cornell University and University of Vermont): http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/necfe/index.html
Delaware	State food safety contacts for Cooperative Extension Service, Delaware: http://www.idea.iastate.edu/foodsafety/state_contacts.asp?state_id=9
Florida	University of Florida Center for Agribusiness: http://www.agbuscenter.ifas.ufl.edu
Georgia	Getting Started in the Food Specialty Business, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service Bulletin 1051: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/business/food_business.pdf Is Your Agribusiness Project Feasible?, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service Bulletin 1066: (pdf only) http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubs/pdf/B1066.pdf Starting a New Food Business Website, with helpful links to regulations and University of Georgia Food Science and Technology resources available to help: http://www.efsonline.uga.edu/EFS_NFB/index.htm
Hawaii	Some Costs and Considerations for Establishing an Entrepreneurial Community Shared-Use Kitchen or "Test-Kitchen" Incubator, University of Hawaii Cooperative Extension Service Publication FMT-2: http://www2.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/FMT-2.pdf
Idaho	University of Idaho, Food Science & Toxicology Web Site Food Processing Extension Programs: http://www.ag.uidaho.edu/fst/food_processing_extension_programs.htm
Illinois	University of Illinois, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics Website Illinois Specialty Farm Products: http://web.aces.uiuc.edu/value/
Indiana	Purdue University, Department of Food Science, Value-Added Processing Assistance Website: http://www.foodsci.purdue.edu/outreach/feep
Iowa	Iowa State University Extension, Website - Kitchen Incubators & Other Food-Related Small Business: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/incubator/ Selling Food Products, North Central Regional Extension Publication No. 259: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/NCR259.pdf Iowa Laws: Sale of Home-Prepared Foods, Iowa State University Extension Publication PM 1294: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1294.pdf
Kansas	Kansas State University, Department of Animal Sciences and Industry Website: Value Added Services and Programs: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/meatscience/ValueAdded.htm Kansas Department of Commerce, Agriculture Marketing Development http://kdoch.state.ks.us/public/agency/divisions/div_details.jsp?divId=997990295060
Kentucky	Home-Based Business: Making & Selling Food Products in Kentucky, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service Publication H.E. 9-100: http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/FCS9/FCS9100/FCS9100.pdf
Louisiana	Louisiana State University, Food Science Department: http://www.agctr.lsu.edu/foodscience/
Massachusettes	Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship (A Partnership of Cornell University and University of Vermont): http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/necfe/index.html
Maine	Starting a Home Business in Tough Times, University of Maine Cooperative Extension Bulletin #4154: http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/4154.htm
Maryland	State food safety contacts for Cooperative Extension Service, Maryland: http://www.idea.iastate.edu/foodsafety/state_contacts.asp?state_id=22
Michigan	Food Regulations For Small Home Business, Michigan State University Extension Publication Small Business Bulletin E317921: http://www.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/modsb/e2317921.html
Minnesota	Starting a Food Business in Minnesota, Minnesota Department of Agriculture Publication: http://www.mda. state.mn.us/dairyfood/startingfoodbiz.pdf University of Minnesota, Department of Food Science and Nutrition Website - Pilot Plant: http://fscn.che.umn.edu/services/pilot_plant.html
Mississippi	Exploring the Potential for New Food Products, Mississippi State University Food and Fiber Center, Extension Service Publication 2170: http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2170.pdf Considerations Before Starting a Small Food-Processing Business, Mississippi State University Extension Service Information Sheet 1554 http://msucares.com/pubs/infosheets/is1554.htm
Missouri	University of Missouri, Outreach and Extension Website - Missouri Value Added Development Center: http://valueadded.missouri.edu/index.htm Getting from Idea to Implementation, Missouri Department of Agriculture AG Innovation Guide: http://www.aginnovationcenter.org/IdeatoImplementation.pdf
Montana	Starting A Specialty Food Business, Montana State University Extension Service Resource Guide: http://www.montana.edu/extensionnutrition/docs/FoodBusinessResourceGuide.pdf Montana State University, Extension Service Web Site (online training series) - Growing A Small Business and Staying on Top: http://www.montana.edu/%7Ewwwcommd/newbusiness.htm
Nebraska	University of Nebraska, The Food Processing Center Web Site - http://www.fpc.unl.edu University of Nebraska, The Food Processing Center Web Site - Food Entrepreneur Assistance Program: http://fpc.unl.edu/marketing/ent.htm
Nevada	State food safety contacts for Cooperative Extension Service, Nevada: http://www.idea.iastate.edu/foodsafety/state_contacts.asp?state_id=31
New Hampshire	New Hampshire Specialty Food Producers Handbook and Resource Guide, University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Publication: http://ceinfo.unh.edu/Family/Documents/Sf_intro.pdf Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship (A Partnership of Cornell University and the University of Vermont): http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/necfe/index.html
New Jersey	Rutgers State University, NJ Agricultural Experiment Station Web Site - Food Innovation Research & Extension Center (FIRE): http://www.foodinnovation.rutgers.edu
New Mexico	State food safety contacts for Cooperative Extension Service, New Mexico: http://www.idea.iastate.edu/foodsafety/state_contacts.asp?state_id=34 In the Specialty Food Business, Getting Started Is No Piece of Cake, New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service News Release: http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/news/1996/081996_testkitchen.html
New York	Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship (at Cornell University) http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/necfe/index.html New York State Food Venture Center Publications (at Cornell University): http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/necfe/pubs/pubs.html
North Carolina	North Carolina State University, Cooperative Extension Web Site - Developing a Food Business: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/foodsci/ext/programs/ncfood/faq.html North Carolina State University, Cooperative Extension Web Site - Publications for Developing a Food Business: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/foodsci/ext/programs/ncfood/pubs.html
North Dakota	Food Entrepreneur, your Resource Guide to the Food Industry, North Dakota State University Extension Service Online publication: http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/cdfs/foodent/fex-2.html Developing a New Co-Owned Agricultural Business: How do we Start a Value-Added Firm?, North Dakota State University Extension Service Publication EC-1137: http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/agecon/market/ec1137w.htm
Ohio	Ohio State University, Food Science and Technology Web Site - Gould Food Industries Center: http://www.fst.osu.edu/fic/foodpp.htm Ohio State University, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Web Site - Small Business Series (Entrepreneurhsip, Home Business & Micro Enterprises): http://ohioline.osu.edu/lines/busi.html#BCDEV
Oklahoma	Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma Food and Agricultural Products Research and Technology Center Website: http://www.fapc.okstate.edu/
Oregon	Oregon State university and Oregon Department of Agriculture Web Site - Food Innovation Center: http://fic.oregonstate.edu Oregond State University, Extension Service News Release (and contact for Food Marketing Specialist) - OSU to Offer "Food School": http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/story.php?S_No=47&storyType=news
Pennsylvania	Penn State University, Deparment of Food Science Web Site - Resources for Small Food Processors & Potential Entrepreneurs http://foodsafety.cas.psu.edu/processor/ent_res_text2.htm
Rhode Island	Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneursheip (A Partnership of Cornell University and University of Vermont): http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/necfe/index.html
South Carolina	Starting a Food Business: An Overview, Clemson Extension Home & Garden Information Center Publication HGIC 3867: http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC3867.htm
South Dakota	South Dakota Department of Agriculture, Division of Ag Development Web Site - The Value Added And Crop Marketing Program: http://www.state.sd.us/doa/ag_dev/marketing/crop.htm State food safety contacts for Cooperative Extension Service, South Dakota: http://www.idea.iastate.edu/foodsafety/state_contacts.asp?state_id=46
Tennessee	Getting Started in a Food Manufacturing Business in Tennessee, University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service Publication PB1399: http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/pbfiles/pb1399.pdf Starting Your Own Wine Business, University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service Publication PB1688: http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/pbfiles/PB1688.pdf Considerations for a Value-Added Agribusiness, University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service Publication PB1642: http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/pbfiles/pb1642.pdf Design and Construction of Food Processing Operations, University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service Publication ADC Info #18: http://cpa.utk.edu/pdffiles/adc18.pdf Starting a Food Business: Overview of Marketing, University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service Slide Set (Online): http://www.utextension.utk.edu/adc/StartingFoodBusiness
Texas	Texas A&M University, Texas Cooperative Extension Web Site - Home-Based & Micro Business, Entrepreneurship: http://fcs.tamu.edu/money/your_business/index.php Adding Value to Agricultural Products, Texas A&M University Agricultural Extension Service Publication L-5361: http://tcebookstore.org/pubinfo.cfm?pubid=1302 Evaluating Your Value-Added Business Plan, Texas A&M University Agricultural Extension Service Publication L-5438: http://tcebookstore.org/pubinfo.cfm?pubid=1708
Utah	State food safety contacts for Cooperative Extension Service, Utah: http://www.idea.iastate.edu/foodsafety/state_contacts.asp?state_id=49
Vermont	Northeast center for Food Entrepreneurship (A Partnership of Cornell University and University of Vermont): http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/necfe/index.html
Virginia	Starting a Food Processing Business in Virginia, Virginia Tech Cooperative Extension Publication 348-963: http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/foods/348-963/348-963.html
Washington	Producing Value-Added Products for Market: Start with Food Safety, Washington State University Cooperative Extension Publication EB-1902: http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb1902/EB1902.pdf Value-Added Enterprises for Small-Scale Farmers, Washington State University Cooperative Extension, King County, Agriculture and Natural Resources Fact Sheet #518: http://www.metrokc.gov/dchs/csd/wsu-ce/agriculture/PDFs/ValueAdded.pdf Washington State University, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition Web Site - Food Processing Pilot Plant: http://pilotplant.bsyse.wsu.edu
West Virginia	State food safety contacts for Cooperative Extension Service, West Virginia: http://www.idea.iastate.edu/foodsafety/state_contacts.asp?state_id=54
Wisconsin	University of Wisconsin, Cooperative Extension Web Site - Starting a Value-Added Farm-Food Business: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/agmarkets/starting.html
Wyoming	Wyoming Business Council Division of Agriculture. If your business is agriculture-related, the Wyoming Business Council Division of Agriculture may be able to offer you assistance with marketing, market research and training. Call Bill Bunce at (307) 777-6581. http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/SBDC/starting/opportunities.htm Wyoming Business Council Web Site - Promoting Products "Made in Wyoming": http://www.wyomingbusiness.org/ag/ag_wyfirst.aspx University of Wyoming, Small Business Development Center Web Site: http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/SBDC/

Credit is due to Brian A. Nummer, Ph.D. and Elizabeth L. Andress, Ph. D., both of the National Center for Home Food Preservation for most of this information!

Remember to ALWAYS call the farm or orchard BEFORE you go - weather, heavy picking and business conditions can always affect their hours and crops!

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ConsumerFraudReporting.org - Information about identity theft, frauds and scams; how to report them and how to protect your identity.
FitnessAndHealthScience.org - Practical fitness, health and diet information that works.
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Can I Sell My Home-Canned Jams and Other Preserves?

Processed Food Business Resources

Cooperative Extension Program Links

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