[CH] Starting A Hot Sauce Business

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I've been looking into this myself.  I've been told that different levels
of marketing require different levels of certification.  If you wanted to
sell products at roadside farmstands, you probably don't have cut through
a lot of red tape.  Selling at big seasonal craft fairs probably requires
both food safety permits along with a vendor permit.  Of course, trying
to get your product into a supermarket chain, gourmet/specialty food store,
or nation-wide distribution via mail order company like Mo' Hotta Mo'
Betta, almost certainly requires the whole range of State and Federal food
safety certifications. 
In New Hampshire, there are regional "scale-up" kitchens that can be
rented specifically for this purpose to make anything from baked goods to hot
sauces and salsas.  The kitchen is inspected regularly and adheres to all
safety and cleanliness codes.  Different rules apply to different products
and State regulations may be different than Federal regulations.  If the
pH is less than or equal to 4.5, hot sauces seem to be fairly easy to
manufacture and market.  
We're thinking of attending the College of Chile Knowledge in N.Mex in
March to learn more about "The Biz" and sent away to the Massachusetts Dept.
of Agriculture for a comprehensive booklet on making and selling
specialty foods   Even though one woman who started her own peanut/pesto sauce
business advised us to "run-not walk" away from the sauce business idea (she
didn't have ChileHead solidarity behind her!) , we aren't discouraged but
are certainly not about to quit our day jobs anytime soon.

Jeffro

Jeffro's Serious Sauces

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