Micro Cannery in ILLinois

[onthehill10]

Dose anyone know how to get a license to start a micro cannery in ILL.?

[Jena]

Originally Posted by onthehill10

Dose anyone know how to get a license to start a micro cannery in ILL.?

No, but you can start with the department of ag. They might be able to tell you where to go if they don't cover it (which they probably don't..maybe...I don't know).

Jena

Originally Posted by Jena

No, but you can start with the department of ag. They might be able to tell you where to go if they don't cover it (which they probably don't..maybe...I don't know).

Jena

Your state Department of Agriculture and your local county health department are the two places to start since they're going to have the greatest regulatory input on what you do and don't do.

.....Alan.

[Mullers Lane Farm]

here's IL Dept of Ag website: http://www.agr.state.il.us/

Where about in IL are you planning this??? What exactly is a micro cannery??

[onthehill10]

A Micro Cannrey is a home based cannery where you can vegs. fruits, jams, jelleys, and sell to the public. I am in southern ILL. Red Bud. Wrightnow I have a roadside market, I sell peaches, apples, watermellon, tommatoes, anything I raise in the garden. I get alot of requests for jams and jelleys, so I thought it would be more money comeing in if I did this.

[Mullers Lane Farm]

That's what I was thinking, but wasn't sure.

Is a micro-cannery needed in IL to sell canned items?? Most churches have a certified kitchen, is this the same type of thing or totally different?

At our small farmer's market there are folks that sell jams & jellies regularly. I've sold a few cans of beets myself. None of us are licensed. I know I take a chance when I put canned goods on my market table but we're such a small community ....

[Jena]

I don't know anything about selling canned goods. I sell meat and poultry. I also live in a small community and many people are surprised when I tell them I have a license and all the legal stuff.

I've had people who wanted to buy eggs. I told them I wouldn't sell them because I don't have a license or the time to comply with what's needed for a license. They think that's dumb, but I think it's best to keep things legal.

Jena

[fin29]

You'll probably have to operate based on these rules:

http://www.legis.state.il.us/commiss...0sections.html

In addition, the USDA has a Food Code that is applicable as well. You can probably get a copy online.

You'll need to contact the Public Health Dept. and ask them. This is definitely not something you want to do without the proper licenses, as Jena stated. Furthermore and MOST IMPORTANTLY, if you haven't already, you need to set up an LLC and separate accounts for your business to protect your ass(ets) in the unlikely event that someone breaks a tooth on your canned pumpkin or gets chafed from your grape jelly. Not doing that is one of the most irresponsible things you can do, regardless of the amount of your annual sales.

I jumped all the hurdles by getting my home kitchen licensed as a catering establishment. It required lots of expensive renovations, but it's tax deductible, and I can process just about everything here. It takes a bit of bureaucratic wrangling to do, but it's definitely doable. I don't know what the specific rules are in your state, but if you need any advice, pm me.

[Mullers Lane Farm]

Originally Posted by Jena

I've had people who wanted to buy eggs. I told them I wouldn't sell them because I don't have a license or the time to comply with what's needed for a license. They think that's dumb, but I think it's best to keep things legal.

Jena,
You need an egg license if you want to sell to stores or restruarants. You do not need an egg license in IL if you are selling direct to the consumer from your farm. You do need to package your eggs in new cartons.

[Mullers Lane Farm]

Originally Posted by fin29

You'll probably have to operate based on these rules:

http://www.legis.state.il.us/commiss...0sections.html

Thanks Fin,

That link led me to:
IL Food and Drug Safetry (at the bottom of the page.)

I need to review these.

How does one go about setting up a LLC (limited liability corporation)

Thanks again,

[fin29]

There was some discussion about this on a recent thread:
http://66.79.179.172/upload/showthre...618#post384618


For your state, you:
Go to http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/de...vices/llc.html

Click on "Articles of Organization." Fill out the form, pay the fee (sucks to live in IL!) and you're set. You can register the name of the company using the "Reserve a Name" form, if you're concerned about someone else using it. As important as this, as I stated in the last post and the one above, is to ensure that all business finances are kept separate from personal ones. If your LLC is going to pay you a salary (basically the only way you could use your business profits for personal use), the structure and schedule of the salary should be disclosed on the LLC form to protect you. I'm not a lawyer, but this is how I understand it...with the help of my husband, who is.

[Jena]

Originally Posted by Mullers Lane Farm

Jena,
You need an egg license if you want to sell to stores or restruarants. You do not need an egg license in IL if you are selling direct to the consumer from your farm. You do need to package your eggs in new cartons.

I don't live on the farm, so I can't sell the eggs from there. I thought of the self-help method, but I have a tenant that I don't want to disturb. I sell most of my meat through delivery, so I'd end up doing the same thing with eggs. In that situation, I do need a license and have to grade the eggs. Too big a pain!

Jena

[Jena]

I do not have an LLC and have been advised that it is not necessary for me to do so.

I do have insurance through Farm Bureau.

Many people are unable to get insurance due to on-farm processing (in the meat thing anyways), so they go the LLC route. You might want to check with your insurance, but be careful in doing so. I've heard of people being totally cancelled once the insurance found out they were doing a "big no-no", such as on-farm processing.

I don't know if canning would fall into the big no-no category, so ask before you attempt doing so and know the risk of possibly losing all coverage if that is the case.

Jena

[fin29]

Jena-if someone gets sick on your meat and tries to sue you, are you covered by your insurance? Is is some kind of liability insurance policy specifically written for your meat sales? What happens if you are sued for more than your coverage? If you don't have an LLC covering your personal assets, then can't they go after them?
I'm curious, because it sounds like Mullers Lane could get a policy for cheaper than the cost of setting up an LLC in IL, provided if would give them the protection they're looking for.

[Jena]

The policy is not a product liability policy. I asked my insurance agent and he said if someone got sick, then the processor's insurance would be liable, not mine (though of course, I could be included in any lawsuits). The premium is based on the sales for the year and is very reasonable. I think it's $126 a year for an anticipated sales of $20000.

My attorney told me I do not need an LLC. I have a million dollar liability policy, as well as the coverage for my meat sales. I don't have that many personal assets to protect. My assets are my farm, livestock and equipment. I don't think anyone would want my house and the bank gets paid first, so what's the point? Heck, for that matter, the bank gets paid first on the sale of my farm, etc too, so there really isn't anything here to protect.

Jena