Home food processing Application

[jared 015]

Do you need this if you are making syrup in the state of pa or can you just send in the $35.

[Buffalo Creek Sugar Camp]

I believe you just send the $35 for the license. You will then be contacted by an inspector and they will come and inspect your facility. Make sure you have a water sample report.

[Sandersyrup]

What was the consensus on this if you want to sell a little of your excess syrup. Do you still need to apply and have a facility and get it inspected? My 'facility' is my driveway and I only have about 40 pints for sale. How can I legally sell it, I followed all the rules in making/bottling/labeling the syrup.

[happy thoughts]

You can't legally sell it without a water test, an inspection, and a license. Your driveway isn't going to fly as a "facility".

You can download the PA maple product guidelines here-

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_24476_10297_0_43/AgWebsite/Files/Publications/Maple%20Product%20Guideline.%20rev.pdf

[Sandersyrup]

Altighty then! Guess I'm giving away my excess. Which is just as rewarding, just doesn't cover costs!

[Cabin]

Altighty then! Guess I'm giving away my excess. Which is just as rewarding, just doesn't cover costs!

Barter/'gift exchange' for fuel? Labor?

[happy thoughts]

Barter/'gift exchange' for fuel? Labor?

That's a really good idea. I few years back I asked other posters here what they used syrup to barter for. Here's that thread if you want to read it for some encouragement. There's some good trades to be made out there :)

http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?12082-Bartering-with-syrup&highlight=bartering+syrup

[Cabin]

It is one way to get food grade plastic buckets for the sap.

[Turtlecreek]

Your driveway will work as a facility as long as your evaporator is covered i.e easy up tent. you need a water sample and if you bottle in your kitchen, it needs to be CLEAN, no pets either. My guy is pretty cool about things, I don't think I will be selling any thins year so i didn't do the inspection thing, plus I am going to be remodeling the kitchen and I'm pretty sure that drywall dust is not allowed in the syrup.

[Sandersyrup]

I have a dog. He loves the kitchen. :) I'm pretty sure I'll have a simple shack up this summer. I'm wondering if a simple 55 gallon water tower would work for my water supply and cooking hot water? I guess I'd need a place for waste water collection. As well? But I'm hopefully going to get by with my home covering some of the requirements.

[Sandersyrup]

Unearthing this thread.

I'm still thinking about what it would take to pass inspection.

I recently acquired a small scotty camper.

10624

I'm wondering if I set the evaporator up underneath the canopy and did my finishing, filtering and botteling in the camper if this would pass inspection. The camper has a sink with running water. no hot water heat. Electricity and water would be from connecting it to the house, bathrooms would be inside the house as well.

Its can be made to be clean (or at least as clean as the average sugar house I have been in)

I would appreciate your thoughts on this!

[emericksmaple]

I can tell you this. The home processers license comes into effect if you make any by products in your own home. We have to pay 35.00 for the sugarhouse and 35.00 for the house. My inspector is even now questioning my maple nut toppings, saying that they do not know if I can package them in a glass jar with a lid and ring. They say that is vacuum packing and only commercial places can do that. They are discussing it with the state at the moment.

[3GoatHill]

Copied from the state's guidlines, "3. Water Supply: All water shall be potable. Private water supplies shall be tested
annually, immediately prior to the Maple Syrup season. An adequate potable hot and
cold water supply shall be available and convenient to processing facilities for cleaning
purposes."

These regs seem a little vague and open to interpretation. What do they mean by "convenient". My house is 150ft away from my shack. Is that convenient enough? And if I'm washing utensils in my house, does my kitchen have to be licensed as well? How much discretion do the inspectors have?

[Sandersyrup]

These regs seem a little vague and open to interpretation. What do they mean by "convenient". My house is 150ft away from my shack. Is that convenient enough? And if I'm washing utensils in my house, does my kitchen have to be licensed as well? How much discretion do the inspectors have?

Thats a good question.. I'm hoping to find out. I'm hoping I can find SOMEBODY willing to brainstorm with me on how to pass these inspections with minimal investment.

10679

If I were to buy one of these Greenhouse tent structures to cover the evaporator how would you suggest I get the chimney through the roof? I like the idea of this because I can actually use it as a greenhouse in the late spring and Fall and bike storage in the summer :)

And If I had 2 55gallon food grade water barrels outside, one as a cold water and the other as hot (heater filament hanging inside) connected to a very basic sink, do you think that would work? I would also have a finishing stove and a table for filtering/bottling. I could easily set up a reliable lighting source as well and possibly lift the whole thing off the ground on plywood or something.

I estimate this could pass inspection for about $500

Thoughts?

[psparr]

Just set it up with the stack end out the door. You'd have to shield the stack near the tent though.

[pennslytucky]

bunch of amish sugarmakers around here that sell hundreds of gallons of syrup every year. i know none of them have fancy hot/cold water in the sugarhouse or anything else on these lists. is there really some jerk in a suit that goes around fining us for selling syrup to our local community?