Does anyone file Scheduled Processes for Veg Jelly and Chutney?

14 years ago

I sell jams and jelly at a local farmers market (a whole different world than making them for family and friends!!!) and I have filed scheduled processes for my pickles (low acid acidified foods). I've been certified for home processing low acid and acidified foods by the FDA, blessed by my State's kitchen inspector, and have my well tested yearly by the County, besides filing my "business" as a food manufacturing facility with the gov under the Bioterrorism act of 2002, can never use a pressure or steam canner for anything I offer, and have a business (DBA) fictitious ID, and Sales and Use Tax ID to collect State taxes, just to be able to sell my home-canned products. Have you jumped these hoops?

I want to begin selling chutney and vegetable jellies but can find so little info or FDA guidelines for those foods relative to selling them to the public. Are they acidified foods (vegetables with vinegar, wine, or citric fruit juices added to high acid fruits) which would require filing a scheduled process, or are they jellies (high volume of sugar and basically high acid fruits with additions of low acid vegetables) that are exempt from filing because of low food safety risk and not covered under 21CFR as a jam/jelly/preserve? That also begs the question of low acid fruit jellies like papaya, tomatoes, and figs, along with a whole bunch of other fruit jellies, for which the approved recipes require you to add lemon juice or other acidifiers to the process. There are approved recipes out there, so are these low acid fruit jellies supposed to have scheduled processes filed too if you want to sell them?

My Hab Gold Jelly tests at a finished pH equilibrium of less than 3.8, for example, but the peppers and onions are at a beginning pH of 5.5 - so --- are they acidified, or are the apricots of pH 3.3 and the vinegar and sugar offsetting the beginning pH and therefore the jelly deemed as having "minimal" low acid food additions incorporated into those high acid foods?

I've emailed my State's expert on food safety but have not heard back yet. It is quite likely his reply will be to spend the 100 bucks to have my Hab Gold Jelly tested in the State's food lab to be sure, but maybe not. Well, this is a widely published recipe/process, even in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving 2006 (with no credit given to Annie1992, or ReadingLady (carol) !!!), and surely I am not the only one who has considered offering this jelly for sale to the public in the US, and who wants to be within the gov guidelines - so testing it again (for a big fee) doesn't seem necessary if the process is followed exactly and the recipe/process has already been tested and approved numerous times, and if it is deemed a high acid product (which does not need filing a scheduled process with the FDA).

The real question is that I need to know if chutney and vegetable jellies are low or high acid foods, or acidified low acid foods, and whether or not they require filing of scheduled processes.

Nancy

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Comments (5)

readinglady
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I'm sorry I can't help you with the legalities, though my guess would be it's a high-acid food. I've seen discussions on this issue at rec.food.preserving, as there are (were? haven't checked in lately) several members who do sell product commercialy and in the past posted there regularly. A search of the archives might yield an answer. Otherwise, you might look for jamlady on that board and email her with your question. I know she develops jams and other sweet preserves, including pepper jellies, for Gedney.

To clarify, the Habanero Gold isn't my creation or Annie's, so Ball isn't failing in that regard. I did create a doubled version with more dried apricots and half the liquid pectin, but I was still "beholden" to the original developer of the recipe.

Originally that was a Canadian recipe included in the Bernardin book and developed by Bob Rouleau. It was in a section called "Salute to Canadian Entrepreneurs" which focused on small home-based preserving enterprises. I don't know why he's no longer credited, but clearly it was designed for commercial sale to our northern neighbors.

The story below explains more and includes other savory jelly recipes. Perhaps knowing the source and that they're meant to be sold commercially will be somewhat helpful.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Savoury Jellies from Bob Rouleau and Bernardin
readinglady
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Clarification: The woman I referred to who develops preserves for Gedney is listed as "Melba's Jammin'" at rec.food.preserving.

But she's also on eboard as jamlady. I've provided a link. If you click the little envelope at the top you could email her. I think she might be the best source for information. If she doesn't have the answer she's the most likely to direct you to the right person.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: JamLady
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nancyofnc
Original Author
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thank you Carol for your reply! I will definitely contact her. I certainly am not the only one on the continent who wants to sell home preserved food!

Amazingly I got a quick and helpful reply from my State's food safety officer in one day! The gist of it is -- that savory jellies and fruit/savory chutneys are low acid (pH >4.6) for the majority of ingredients with some acidification in the process to lower the pH but they are NOT exempt from filing a Scheduled Process as acidified food like fruit jellies are. Those are exempt (since they have a beginning and finished high acid equilibrium of I really try my best to jump though the hoops, comply with the laws, rules, and guidelines to be legally on the up and up, though finding information on what is needed has been a royal pain. I do so wish that Ball and NCHFP and So Easy to Preserve sites and books would outline what is needed if you want to SELL your home-canned products to the public, and even though each State has their own laws, the FDA is the ruler max. Why is this stuff so secret and hard to find?

I've written an outline of what is required for my fellow local market vendors so that whoever wants to sell home-canned foods in my State will have all the info I had to scrabble to find. Maybe I'll write a white paper about it for the US and make enough money to pay for more food safety testing for my chutney's and pickles next!

Nancy
User
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Nancy -
Write a small book about how to create and use a "Scheduled Process", and sell it on LuLu.com No sense everyone else having to find the hoops to jump through.

The FDA info would be for all states.

Your state's info would be specific, and just find the agency that others would have to deal with and list the addresses, or tell them who to call. Creating, testing and following the process is the same all over, with the testing agency being the variable.

Something to ask the FDA - can I use your process without further testing?

If you want help with the LuLu process, I can offer some help.
iwannagoat2
8 years ago
nancyofnc - (i can't figure out how to message you) did you ever write your book? I'm curious as to how to get FDA approval for acidified foods.

Does anyone file Scheduled Processes for Veg Jelly and Chutney?

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readinglady

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Does anyone file Scheduled Processes for Veg Jelly and Chutney?

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readinglady

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