I want to make jams & jellies. How do I do it legally?

[Buffy in Dallas]

I was thinking of making some jams, jellies and sauces for sale. I tries looking up the laws in Texas and my brain exploded. How do I find out the laws and how to follow them without a 200 IQ and a law degree?

Texas Food Laws for Dummies???

[Pelenaka]

While many states & counties do vary on food service issues the best bet is for you to contact your county health dept. Tell them what you want to do & they will point you in the right direction such as food service handling classes, whether your area requires a licensed kitchen and what immunizations you might need. Off the top of my head I know food service workers require a current TB test.

In the mean time you can do internet searches on containers and figure out your price points on your products. How much it will cost you to make that jar of jam from start to finish; raw ingredients, kitchen rental, container, labels, any license fees, ect.

~~ pelenaka ~~

[ChristopherReed]

I know for a fact here in TN its almost impossible to can anything not acidic to sell. Though I dont know how the amish do it. I attended a class given by the head of the health dept. That does home food processor and major processor inspections, and from what I gathered... ANything that could easily produce botulism was not going to happen on a small scale. (Though like I said, I dont know how the amish get by with it, Unless they are a scam altogether...)

[clovis]

Yes, call your local health department. They'll be able to tell you what you need to know.

[Texasdirtdigger]

The Texas Bakers Law, just passed Sept 1.

No need to call the health dept.

You can sell jelllies and jams and baked goods from home, however, they must have certain label requirements.

You do not have to be inspected or licensed....bu if health dept. recieves a complaint, they will come by and do an inspection.

Google Texas bakers law..............hope this helps.

[chickenista]

And for anyone else to is reading this and wanting to know...
Do not call your county health department. They know nothing and will tell you that you cannot under any circumstances.
Such rules and laws are run by the state's Department of Agriculture. You can go to the website and then poke around until you find it.
Or just google.. 'making jams and jellies for sale in X state' and that should lead you somewhere you need to be.

[Pelenaka]

Originally Posted by ChristopherReed

I know for a fact here in TN its almost impossible to can anything not acidic to sell. Though I dont know how the amish do it. I attended a class given by the head of the health dept. That does home food processor and major processor inspections, and from what I gathered... ANything that could easily produce botulism was not going to happen on a small scale. (Though like I said, I dont know how the amish get by with it, Unless they are a scam altogether...)

I usually don't buy locally made food items unless it's @ the point of manufacture like an Amish store that also serves food. The one in Warsaw, New York, Lantz has a deli counter & ovens so they bake there onsite. There is also a vendor @ the farmers market that I buy @ who has jams ect. But since I make my own I've never inquired about where they make it.

I am the customer who pretends she got lost on the way to the bathroom just to sneak a peek @ a restaurant's kitchen.


~~ pelenaka ~~

[tojo66]

Google "cottage laws and your state name."

[idigbeets]

Here we call them certified home kitchen and it's handled by the Dept of Agriculture.

[Buffy in Dallas]

Thanks for the info! I was finally able to do some research and my findings were quite depressing. The Texas Bakers Law doesn't help one little bit. After all the restrictions it would be almost impossible to do business.
No Internet sales?
No sales at farmer's markets, county fairs, roadside stands, local festivals, craft shows, wholesale, or resale to restaurants, grocery stores, coffee shops.

The customer has to come to your front door and pay.

Ya, that's gonna happen much... So much for that idea...

http://www.texascottagefoodlaw.com/T...awSummary.aspx

[Tommyice]

Thanks for the link Buffy. It helped me to find a similar bill going through the NJ assembly. They are voting on it next session (2012).

Maybe you can petition your representative to amend the statute to include farmer's markets, internet and the like?

[clovis]

Originally Posted by Buffy in Dallas

Thanks for the info! I was finally able to do some research and my findings were quite depressing. The Texas Bakers Law doesn't help one little bit. After all the restrictions it would be almost impossible to do business.
No Internet sales?
No sales at farmer's markets, county fairs, roadside stands, local festivals, craft shows, wholesale, or resale to restaurants, grocery stores, coffee shops.

The customer has to come to your front door and pay.

Ya, that's gonna happen much... So much for that idea...

http://www.texascottagefoodlaw.com/T...awSummary.aspx

I have heard of some people who rent or use a church owned kitchen because they are up to code and meet all food/health laws.

I heard a story once about some gals that were making a food product. Since the kitchen they used cost by the hour, they would prep all the food at home, and package it at the church!!! I have laughed many times about that story, but I was told it was true, and helped them pass all the local laws.

[ChristopherReed]

making food else where, etc... is different than canning foods. Canning foods most often contains its own laws.. Botulism is no joke, and the health dept takes it and canning very seriously.


But I do have one question for you. Could you financialy support a lawsuit if what you can does sprout botulism and you make people sick, or kill some one? This is something that i did learn alot about in the food processors agriculture classes I attended. You need to keep acurate records of each lot produced, and better yet who you sold them to (i.e. where you sold them, etc..). You need to contact your health dept, your insurance, and probably a lawyer... How many cans do you need to sell to pay for that?

You may not like what Im saying, I understand that... but, its just a warning.

[jad44]

A friend of mine went to a county extension office to both get info and also needed to have some of her jellies checked for safety reasons - but each state may have it's own criteria; but I'd say start with the county extension office; they'd have info - I'm sure.

[candyapplelady]

Start with your local health dept. Have to agree with ChristopherReed, the sale of home canned foods face very tough regulations. We have a certified home kitchen and sell candyapples, fudge, peanut brittle and pies. We can only sell our products in our own town. We can't sell any products that require refrigeration. We can't wholesale to any other businesses. The health department inspects our kitchen yearly and we have to provide them with a list of all our products. Any additions have to be approved by the Health Dept. We also had to complete Allergy Awareness training and Safe Serve training as well. All our products have to have an ingredients label and we must post allergy awareness signage in plain view for our customers.
Each state/city/town has their own rules and regulations. My advice is to follow the rules, it protects you, your customers and earns the respect of the "Powers that Be".