Bulletin #3101, Recipe to Market: How to Start a Specialty Food Business in Maine
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Recipe to Market: How to Start a Specialty Food Business in Maine
Prepared by Extension Food Science Specialist and Assistant Professor Beth Calder and Professor Alfred Bushway
For information about UMaine Extension programs and resources, visit extension.umaine.edu.
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Do you have a recipe that has been passed through your family for generations? Do family and friends rave about a food product that you make and encourage you to start your own food business? Are you an entrepreneur who sees a niche market for your food product? Are you a small-scale farmer who wants to develop value-added food products? Are you a caterer or restaurant owner who would like to provide one of your signature products to the retail market?
Specialty food producers—often operating home-based microenterprises—are a growing Maine industry. Yet starting a Maine home-based food business will require you to face challenges including licensing, food safety, and business skill-building. In addition, some recipes and food products for sale may need to be reviewed by the Maine Food Processing Authority. We have developed this publication to answer the questions that we are most frequently asked about starting a small food business in Maine.
1. Is starting a specialty food business right for me?
It’s okay to decide against owning a food business after reading this publication. Starting a food business is a huge commitment of time, capital, and energy. Also, not all food products can be easily converted to retail items. Marketing research may show that your food product will not have a strong enough demand. But if you choose to proceed, having the right personality and a solid business plan will help you to be successful!
2. Where do I begin?
Everyone asks, “How do I start, and where do I turn as I begin the process of starting my own food business?”
We answer this question with a question: where are you in your process? Do you have a recipe in mind? Have you developed an exact, fine-tuned recipe?
When cooking for family and friends, most cooks have their recipes memorized, or they use a pinch of this or that. When developing a food product for customers, you have to develop a concrete recipe with exact temperatures and times noted during the process. This information will be helpful for the Food Processing Authority, who will determine whether you are processing your food product safely. Keep in mind that customers will want a consistent food product that has the same flavor and texture each time they buy it.
Recipes should be formulated on a weight basis to ensure batch-to-batch consistency. A gram scale will help you convert cups and teaspoon measurements to grams. You can purchase a gram scale (which should have an accuracy of 0.1 g), or other necessary equipment such as a pH meter (which should have an accuracy of 0.01–0.1 pH units), online, or from a supplier of scientific laboratory equipment. For guidance on buying a pH meter, see University of Nebraska’s Selecting a pH Meter.
3. Who is the “Food Processing Authority” for Maine? Where do I send my food products to be tested?
Alfred Bushway of the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Maine is the Food Processing Authority for Maine and New Hampshire. His laboratory offers testing to determine whether your food product falls under Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proper guidelines for food safety and/or Standards of Identity. Your test results will include suggestions on how you can improve your food product if it does not meet certain guidelines. Food property tests include
- water activity (aw)—to determine the amount of “free” water in baked and canned foods available to support bacterial growth;
- pH—to measure the acidity of pickled foods and salsa (most bacteria will not grow in acidic foods);
- titratable acidity—to measure the actual amount of acids in vinegars;
- water phase salt—to determine the percentage of salt in smoked seafood and fish; and
- Brix—to determine the concentration of dissolved sugars in jams, jellies, and syrups.
If you’ve developed your product and recipe and are ready for testing, we recommend that you send a sample of your product to the lab, along with the details of your exact ingredients, recipe, and process (exact times, temperatures, etc.). Don’t forget to include your contact information. If possible, send the food products in the container in which you wish to sell your product (pack in bubble wrap if you use a glass container).
Send your product to this address:
Alfred Bushway, Food Processing Authority
Food Product Testing Laboratory
5735 Hitchner Hall
Orono, ME 04469-5735
Note: if you make any changes to your recipe or process later, you must resubmit that information with a sample to the Food Processing Authority.
4. What sort of license do I need to sell my food product?
A state food license is required for everyone who sells a food product in Maine. You should discuss the type of license with the staff at the Maine Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, but you will most likely need one of the two common food licenses: a home food-processor license or a commercial food-processor license. If you are interested in selling only at farmers markets, a mobile food vendor license may be all that you need.
5. Where do I get my food license? What are the food laws and rules for my product?
The Maine Department of Agriculture’s Division of Quality Assurance & Regulations issues food licenses/permits, provides food inspections before and after you start your food business, and provides information about state food regulations. Browse their Web site or contact them at 207-287-3841.
Suggestions for success
We highly recommend that you obtain a printed copy of the State of Maine Food Code early on from the Maine Department of Agriculture (207-287-3841). This guide ultimately helps you to follow the FDA’s Current Good Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Packing, or Holding Human Food (CGMP regulations), including proper sanitation, employee hygiene, and certain facility requirements. You must follow CGMPs by law. Keep in mind that these regulations are in place to make sure that you are producing foods under sanitary conditions. All of these regulations are for the health and well-being of your customers!
6. In what cases will the Maine Department of Agriculture deny a home food processor license?
Depending on the type of product that you want to sell, you may not be able to safely process your food product at home. The Maine Department of Agriculture defines some products as “potentially hazardous foods.” If your food product falls into this category, you will have to build a separate commercial processing facility, hire a co-packer, or find another commercially licensed facility or shared-use kitchen to produce your food product.
Jams, jellies, pickles, relishes, and baked goods (unless they use cream fillings or cream cheese frostings) are examples of products that can be safely processed in your home kitchen.
7. What makes a food “potentially hazardous”?
This term may seem strange, but it’s actually the label for food products that are dependent on refrigeration to reduce microbial growth. A food is categorized as potentially hazardous based mainly on its pH and its water activity value (aw). A perfect example is pesto. Fresh pesto has a pH above 4.6, has an aw of greater than 0.85, and requires refrigeration to retard microbial growth. If you were interested in producing fresh pesto, you would have to produce it in a commercial facility, not in your home kitchen. For more information regarding this definition, please read “Chapter 1: Purpose and Definitions” in the State of Maine Food Code. If you have further questions, please contact the Maine Department of Agriculture.
8. Are there special considerations in producing low-acid canned foods and acidified foods?
The answer is yes! Improperly processed low-acid canned foods or acidified foods present life-threatening hazards.
Acidified foods
Acidified foods have an added acid such as vinegar or lemon juice, or an added acidic food such as tomatoes or blueberries, to drop the equilibrium pH below 4.6.
If you are producing pickled foods, salsas, or other acidified foods, you will need to have the Food Processing Authority help you file your acidified food process with the FDA, if your product will be sold outside of Maine. You must also register your facility with the FDA. Guidelines for registering your facility or scheduled process can be accessed at the FDA’s Instructions for Establishment Registration and Processing Filing for Acidified and Low-Acid Canned Foods.
Acidified food needs to be tested by the Food Processing Authority’s lab to ensure that the equilibrium pH is below 4.6, which prevents the potential growth of Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that can produce botulism. You should buy an accurate pH meter to test your batches.
Acidified foods need to be tested 16 to 24 hours after they were produced and the equilibrium pH of each batch documented. You will be permitted to produce acidified foods in your home kitchen if the Food Processing Authority’s testing shows that your product falls within safe ranges (pH of 4.6 or less for every component within 24 hours of thermal processing). The Food Processing Authority can provide a letter to the Maine Department of Agriculture if you need to have documentation.
Low-acid canned foods
Any food (other than alcoholic beverages) with a finished equilibrium pH greater than 4.6 and a water activity greater than 0.85, excluding tomatoes and tomato products having a finished equilibrium pH less than 4.7, is considered a low-acid food. Low-acid canned foods, such as green beans and carrots, have to be processed in a commercial facility. (Green beans have a pH above 4.6 and are considered a naturally low-acid food.)
Be sure to register your facility with the FDA, which is required under the Bioterrorism Act for both domestic and foreign facilities that process and/or pack food for human or animal consumption. (Note: farms and home-based food processors are exempt, as well as food processors who fall under the jurisdiction of USDA—that is, facilities handling only meat, poultry or egg products.) You can register your facility at FDA Industry Systems, or by calling 800-216-7331 or e-mailing furls@fda.gov.
Suggestions for Success
If you are considering processing low-acid canned and/or acidified foods, the FDA requires that a supervisor from your operation obtain Better Process Control School certification to ensure that foods are properly processed and container closures are properly sealed. This certification course is offered in Orono at the University of Maine in odd years in the fall. Please call University of Maine Cooperative Extension at 207-581-2788 if you are interested in taking this course.
If you have any questions about registering your facility, acidified food process, the Bioterrorism Act, or any general questions, please feel free to contact Lori Holmquist, Compliance Officer at the FDA’s Maine Resident Post in Augusta, at (207) 622-8268 or lori.holmquist@fda.hhs.gov.
9. What do I need to have on my food label?
All food producers must list the following items on their food labels:
- the statement of identity (name of food product),
- net weight of food product (usually measured in both ounces and grams),
- ingredient listing (listed in descending order by weight of ingredients),
- potential allergens in food product, and
- name and address of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor.
Refer to the FDA’s A Food Labeling Guide online, or request a copy from the FDA at 301-436-2373.
The eight food allergens that require an allergen statement are milk, eggs, fish, wheat, crustacean shellfish such as lobster and crab, tree nuts, peanuts, and soybeans. For further guidance on listing allergens, consult the FDA’s Questions and Answers Regarding Food Allergens, including the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (Edition 4) (call 301-436-2600 for a hard copy of the document). You can e-mail the FDA with general questions at industry@fda.gov.
10. Am I exempt from the nutrition label requirement?
If you are a retailer with less than $500,000 in annual gross sales, or a food producer who sells directly to consumers and grosses less than $50,000, then you are exempt from nutrition labeling. You do not have to file a small business nutritional labeling exemption to the FDA under these circumstances.
If you sell low-volume products, employ fewer than 100 employees yearly, and sell fewer than 100,000 units in the U.S. yearly, you are exempt from nutrition labeling. You DO have to file a small business nutritional labeling exemption notice yearly with the FDA.
However, if you sell (in the U.S. only) even lower volumes—if you sell fewer than 10,000 units and hire fewer than 10 full-time employees yearly—you do not have to file a small business nutritional labeling exemption notice with the FDA.
For more information regarding nutrition label exemptions, or to submit a small business nutritional labeling exemption form, consult the FDA’s Small Business Nutrition Labeling Exemption or call 301-436-2371.
If you are interested in selling your food products wholesale (such as to grocery stores), you will need to contact GS1 US, a not-for-profit standards organization, obtain a bar code.
11. Where do I go to get my environmental testing, shelf-life testing, nutrition labeling, and ingredient analysis done?
For environmental (facility) testing and shelf-life testing in Maine, choose one of these certified labs:
- Northeast Laboratory Services: 227 China Road, Winslow, Maine, 800 244-8378, info@nelabservices.com
- Katahdin Analytical Services: 600 Technology Way, Scarborough, Maine, 207-874-2400. Northeast Laboratory Services can also contract out to have nutrition labeling done. Other options for nutrition labeling include contacting one of the following consultants:
- Bill Siedel, 207-284-0220
If you need to have your ingredients analyzed specifically because of nutrient claims (such as wording on your package that claims that your product is a good source of a particular nutrient), there are several certified labs that can conduct food analyses for you. Do a Web search or search the Food Technology Buyer’s Guide.
12. What services does the University of Maine offer?
We encourage you to visit UMaine’s Dr. Matthew Highlands Pilot Plant, UMaine’s food processing facility, consumer testing center, and commercial kitchen. The facilities are available for product and prototype development, trial of commercial equipment, development of value-added products, etc. Fees vary depending upon the scope of your project. These are research and development facilities only, not commercially licensed facilities. Specialists at the facilities can help you find equipment, ingredients, and packaging supplies. Contact the Pilot Plant at pilotplant@maine.edu or 207-581-3139.
Along with the Food Processing Authority’s basic testing services, we offer a variety of consulting services for research-related product development, diagnostic microbial food product testing, pesticide testing, and analytical testing.
We offer sensory testing (such as taste tests) through the Consumer Testing Center (207-581-1627).
13. Where can I get help with improving my business skills, writing a business plan, and marketing my food product?
University of Maine Cooperative Extension offers small-business education in selected counties. Contact your UMaine Extension county office or call 800-287-0274 to find your local office. You can also browse UMaine Extension’s small-business education resources.
Maine Small Business Development Centers (207-780-4420) provide small-business development assistance.
Mainebusinessworks is an on-line business development resource, with a listing of training, financing, and resources for small businesses in Maine.
You can also consider marketing your food product through the Maine Department of Agriculture’s get real. get maine! campaign.
Other resources:
New England Extension Food Safety Consortium. Online Support for New England Food Entrepreneurs
LaBorde, L.F. Food Entrepreneur Resources: Resources for Small Food Processors and Potential Entrepreneurs. University Park: Penn State.
Hall, Stephen F., 2005. From Kitchen to Market: Selling Your Gourmet Food Specialty. 4th ed. NY: Kaplan Publishing.
Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship, 2001. Small Scale Food Entrepreneurship: A Technical Guide for Food Ventures. Geneva, NY: New York State Agricultural Experiment Station. Includes information on business and marketing, general and specific food products, food safety and sanitation, labeling, processing facilities, and equipment. To obtain a copy call 315-787-2273 or e-mail esk15@cornell.edu.
14. What if I need to find a co-packer, commercial kitchen, or shared-use kitchen? Are there any in Maine?
We have several co-packers in Maine. Cornell University’s Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship maintains a list of shared-use & commercial kitchens and small co-packers in Maine.
- For salsas and other canned items on a small scale, Pemberton’s Gourmet Foods in Gray may be the co-packer for you; Contact Jeff Johnson at 207-657-6446.
- For production on a larger scale or organic certified co-packing, you can contact Schlotterbeck & Foss in Portland at 207-772-4666.
- For low-acid canned foods you can call
- W. S. Wells & Son in Wilton, 207-645-3393; or
- A.M. Look Canning Company in Whiting, 207-259-3341.
- Other co-packers in Maine include
- Coastal Creations, Oxford, ME—contact Stuart Littlefield (207) 743-6444;
- Lukas Foods, Biddeford, ME—contact Gregory J. Willoughby (207) 284-7052.
Another option would be to contact a local restaurant, school, or inn to see if it might be possible to rent their commercial facility during times when their kitchen isn’t being used.
There are shared-use kitchens being developed across Maine, in areas including Saco, Bucksport, Farmington, Eastport, and Unity. For more information, please visit Maine’s Shared Use Kitchen Coalition.
Good luck in your food endeavors!
We would be glad to hear from you if you have any further questions or feedback—contact your UMaine Extension county office. We intend to develop a comprehensive resource guide in the future, so please feel free to share other food industry resources with us.
Reviewed by James McConnon, UMaine Extension Business and Economics Specialist and Professor of Economics
Special thanks to Dana Finnemore (Food Inspection Supervisor), Steve Giguere (Program Manager), and Hal Prince (Director) of the Maine Department of Agriculture Division of Quality Assurance and Regulations; Lori Holmquist (Compliance Officer, New England FDA District Office); and the members of the Maine Shared Use Kitchen Coalition for their reviews.
Brand names, trade names, and company names are included for educational purposes. No endorsement is implied nor is discrimination intended against similar products or services.
Information in this publication is provided purely for educational purposes. No responsibility is assumed for any problems associated with the use of products or services mentioned. No endorsement of products or companies is intended, nor is criticism of unnamed products or companies implied.
© 2009
Published and distributed in furtherance of Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914, by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, the Land Grant University of the state of Maine and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Cooperative Extension and other agencies of the U.S.D.A. provide equal opportunities in programs and employment.
Call 800-287-0274 or TDD 800-287-8957 (in Maine), or 207-581-3188, for information on publications and program offerings from University of Maine Cooperative Extension, or visit extension.umaine.edu.
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