Category: OFI

Just like meeting a person for the first time, businesses often make judgments on first impressions.

Other businesses are hesitant to give out information to consumers, so it helps if you can seem like your are a larger established businesses, even if you are just starting out.

Have your business formation information ready. EIN number, LLC documents, prepared W9, website and business email addresses prior to contacting vendors, suppliers, potential clients or distributors.

Product producers will often ask for this information prior to giving out bulk pricing for packaging and ingredients. They prefer that the small guy goes through a distributor. However, it is essential for your business planning to know what the bulk direct from distributor pricing will be…even if you will most likely not order from them for 6 months to 3 years.

Supply the necessary information and maybe even create an account. Get the information you need. Price per pallet, price per truckload, and lastly ask what the minimum order is.

This research will help you greatly in determining if your great hobby will also make a great business.

For most shelf-stable fluid products it is necessary to obtain a Scheduled Process prior to processing.

A scheduled process is your recipe and procedure, which has been review and edited by a recognized process authority. With very few exceptions, if you are making a product that is fluid and shelf-stable, you will be required to have a scheduled process.

The FDA regulates the production of food and requires that the scheduled process be registered with the FDA.

The links below will take you to some recognized process authorities:

Food Science New England – – Fred Jewett – fred.fsne@gmail.com

NorthEast Labs 

Cornell University

University of Maine

North Carolina State University   or NCSU Filing Page 

To obtain a scheduled process, you will submit:

1. Your recipe. Each ingredient must be measured by weight (pounds, ounces, grams, kilograms). Choose one unit of measure stick with it.
2. Your method. This is the production steps.

The scheduled process is formal document and must be followed exactly, by you or by your co-packer.

You can expect to pay between $95 and $175 per process at the time of this post (February 2016).

It is to your advantage to streamline the process and allow for as many variables as possible.  For example, if you make 5 fl oz bottles, but you think maybe in the future, you want to make half gallons, ask the process authority to write it for “4 fl oz up to 128 fl oz”

You may also ask them to write statements such as “Water maybe added to thin the product to the correct consistency” or “Vinegar maybe added to adjust pH”

If it is not on the document, you are prohibited from making adjustments without permission.

It is also important for you to know how many gallons of product (this is a unit of volume) or unit of product produced by this quantity.

The process authority will make adjustments to your recipe and procedure to insure that it can be safely held at room temperature. This may include the addition of acid, salt, sugar or other additives to create the correct pH or water activity.

Do not be afraid to question the additions if you think that it will change the flavor or texture of the product. There may be other options.

Once you have your scheduled process, you are ready to go into production and can safely make a shelf stable product.

Organic certification is a complicated process for many of our clients. At its simplest explanation, it is a method of tracking organic ingredients from the farm to the consumer. If you can visualize that journey for your ingredients and think about every stop along the way, from the farm to the distributor, manufacturer, through to the customer, it makes it easier to think about your organic plan and organic integrity.

There of course are many other details. Organic certification is the only way to show that there is regulation and documentation concerning the types chemicals applied in the field, and in the processing facility that adhere to the National Organic Standards.

For manufacturers, the key to a successful organic plan is good documentation.

For the consumer, the USDA Organic logo is a clear sign that the product and the manufacturer has been reviewed, complies with the NOP standards which include the prohibition of GMOs.

Here is a link to the USDA Organic bog for more information.

The Children’s Village mission is to work in partnership with families to help society’s most vulnerable children so that they become educationally proficient, economically productive, and socially responsible members of their communities.

We hosted a small group last night. They took a tour of the OFI facility and met with some of the community members. Everyone was very interested and had great questions. Each person had the opportunity to ‘work’ in the BAO kitchen and pack  and label a jar of Raw Slaw to take home.

Thanks to Karen from Free Bread, Jim from the OFI and Giuseppe from Alchemy Creamery for taking time to speak with the group. Thanks also to Chloe’s Soft Serve Fruit Co. for providing samples.