Selling Homemade Food Products in NH - The Basics - Part Three [Fact Sheet]

When is a Commercial Kitchen Food License Required?
 

Starting a homestead food business is a dream of many home cooks. Beginning small, in your primary home kitchen, with shelf-stable baked goods and other approved foods is a practical way to try out this venture. 

There are some food safety and legal requirements that will help to create a delicious and safe product. This fact sheet, developed from New Hampshire Food Protection Section guidance, can help to get you started. In Parts One and Two you learned about the kinds of foods you can make and sell in your home kitchen or other food production area of your primary residence. In this fact sheet, we will discuss the kinds of foods that require a commercial kitchen. 

You will need a food processing commercial license to sell the following foods at a Farmers Market or if you sell wholesale to restaurants from NH DHHS Food Protection or self-inspecting city or town. You will also need access to a commercial kitchen to make and sell these food products: 

1. Fermented foods – sauerkraut, kimchi. Fermented foods need a process review prior to being made and sold. 

2. Special processes – dehydration of food. Dehydrated foods need a process review prior to being made and sold. Exception: drying herbs is permitted as a homestead product. Dehydrated mushrooms are not allowed as it is not considered to be an herb. 

3. Refrigerated foods or foods requiring Time/Temperature Control for safety (TCS foods) including cheesecake, sandwiches, salads, soups, etc. 

4. Freeze dried TCS foods, such as ice cream. 

5. Refrigerated pickles, pickled eggs, garlic/herb and oil mixtures 

6. Kombucha, cold brew coffee 

7. If you have questions about specific foods, contact NH DHHS Food Protection: dhhs.foodprotection@dhhs.nh.gov or 603-271-4589

Did you know?

Due to zoning and other rules, some self-inspecting cities and towns do not allow food-based home businesses. Check with your town/city office before starting your commercial or homestead business.

Commercial Kitchen Requirements

• Commercial refrigeration
• 3-bay sink to wash, rinse, and sanitize equipment
• Separate food prep sink
• At least one hand washing sink
• Mop sink
• Floors, walls, and ceilings are required to be smooth, durable, non-absorbent, and easily cleanable
   

Commercial Kitchen License Requirements

• Water test results for bacteria, nitrates, nitrites
• Septic documentation, including approval for construction and approval for operation
• If the facility is new, then floor plans are required to be submitted for a plan review prior to construction
• Process reviews are required for acidified foods or other “canned” foods. A Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan is required if you have a food processing plant license, but it is not required if the retail store already has a food preparation license.

Did you Know? 

A process review is a thorough evaluation of how a food product is made—from its ingredients to every preparation step and its packaging. This review must be performed by a food processing authority, an expert in thermal processing of low‑acid foods or in the acidification and processing of acidified foods. 

The purpose of the review is to ensure the product is safe, properly processed, and—when required—shelf‑stable. For low‑acid and acidified foods, a process review is legally required to confirm that the product meets safety standards, including adequate heat treatment to eliminate harmful pathogens, before it can be manufactured and sold.

Additional FDA Requirements for Acidified Foods Made in a Commercial Kitchen

• Processors of acidified foods are required to attend and satisfactorily complete a Better Process Control School (BPCS) for acidified foods.
• In addition to the BPCS, manufacturers of acidified foods are required to file and register their scheduled processes with the FDA.
  A scheduled process is the steps and controls you use to manufacture a food that will not permit the growth of foodborne illness causing microorganisms.
  NH Food Protection has a detailed information on these FDA requirements (Scroll to FAQs section): https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/programs-services/environmental-health-and-you/food-protection/food-processing-plants
   

Important Information:

If you are planning a new facility, you will need to submit water test results, septic approval and floor plans for commercial kitchen license requirements.