Starting a food produce business

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Starting a food produce business
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Fee

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 15922
Location: Earth

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 14 4:22 pm Post subject: Starting a food produce business

I know a few of you sell foodstuffs. What do I need to do/know to get started?

You might know that Willow is 100% tubefed and has a blended diet, essentially whatever we have whizzed up with added good fats, oils, honey, seeds, all sorts. She requires extra calories because it takes so much more effort for every movement, even breathing is a chore to Willow.

I am contemplating a baby food style affair, organic pouches/jars with extra calories and nutrition that children like Willow need, a complete food but real food, not formula. Often various intolerences go hand in hand with neuro-disabilities, these could be carered for too.

It's a growing market, at an alarming rate.

lettucewoman

Joined: 26 Sep 2006
Posts: 7834
Location: Tiptoe in the Forest!!

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 14 6:25 pm Post subject:
Something like this?? https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/real-food-blends-meals-for-tube-fed-people I expect someone will be along in a minute but off the top of my head you'd need registering with the EH if you plan to do this from home along with arious other things...pilsbury knows a lot about it!

Fee

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 15922
Location: Earth

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 14 7:46 pm Post subject:
Yep, exactly that, there's a few popping up in the states!

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 14 7:53 pm Post subject:
eho on side ,a grade 2 hygiene cert helps ,good product or good product and dont kill the punters good product is top of my list

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 14 8:40 pm Post subject:

This may be a bit more complicated than a simple food business, it may be straying into the medical field which is a compleate nightmare.
The main issues EHO are going to have is often tub fed people have other medical issues that is goimg to make them a very venerabl group as far as pathogens are concerned so i would expect surfaces that are very easy to clean down and sanitise, the ability to pasturise or uht your product and regular and comprehensive biological testing but that will probably be the worst case.
The basics you need will be to register with the council as a food business, approval from EHO, an understanding and compleated hazard analasys.
As for premises, minimum a sink and a half, 2 sinks would be better, easily cleanable surfaces and walls and floor, fridges and freezers with recorded temps ( a daily probe with a thermomerter and records will do.
I can look into it a bit more if you want me to and feel free to pm or mail me if i can help any more.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 14 8:56 pm Post subject: Re: Starting a food produce business

Fee wrote:

I know a few of you sell foodstuffs. What do I need to do/know to get started?

The first requirement is the desire to work very hard, a good chunk of money & a desire not to have any more. Oh, and a love of cleaning.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 14 9:14 pm Post subject: Re: Starting a food produce business

Rob R wrote:

Fee wrote:

I know a few of you sell foodstuffs. What do I need to do/know to get started?

The first requirement is the desire to work very hard, a good chunk of money & a desire not to have any more. Oh, and a love of cleaning.

Fee

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 15922
Location: Earth

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 14 9:49 pm Post subject: Re: Starting a food produce business

Rob R wrote:

Fee wrote:

I know a few of you sell foodstuffs. What do I need to do/know to get started?

The first requirement is the desire to work very hard, a good chunk of money & a desire not to have any more. Oh, and a love of cleaning.

Thanks, guys.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 14 9:57 pm Post subject:
It's been one of those weeks...

Fee

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 15922
Location: Earth

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 14 10:17 pm Post subject:

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46249
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 14 10:22 pm Post subject:
it is always one of those weeks in food or most other small busimesses (not just a typo but an observation based on experience )

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Fri Feb 14, 14 10:40 pm Post subject:

Fee wrote:

Thursday was good.

It went like this;

Saturday; scale not powering up
Sunday; scale not powering up
Monday; scale rep arrives, scale works perfectly
Tuesday; scale not powering up
Wednesday; scale not powering up
Thursday; scale engineer arrives, scale works perfectly
Friday; scale not switched off since Thursday

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16002

Posted: Sat Feb 15, 14 7:06 am Post subject:
Intermittent faults are the hardest to cure, and of course the thing always works perfectly when someone looks at it. Try the obvious things like the wires to the plug are all right, all plugs fully pushed in, flex to scale in good condition, socket it is plugged into works with other things. If it is none of those it is probably internal, and for the scale rep to look at.

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Sat Feb 15, 14 1:21 pm Post subject:

Rob R wrote:

It's been one of those weeks...

Seconded. The new part I had made for the press does not work as well as I'd hoped... so another trip to the engineers.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Sat Feb 15, 14 1:44 pm Post subject:
Update; Saturday; scale not powering up

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