Bascoms buying standards

[AdirondackSap]

Was wondering what Bascoms expectations are for buying bulk syrup. Also what is the criteria for sugarhouse certification. Do we register with the FDA? and if so why because the FDA has already stated maple syrup as a low risk food. Is this another overreaching mandate by big brother?

[Thompson's Tree Farm]

Go to Bascom's web siteand look under Bruce's corner. He had everything listed there the last I knew.

[Loch Muller]

Yes, you are supposed to register with the FDA. Something about bioterrorism. I wasn't to excited about it ,but did it last winter and haven't heard anything since. There are some older posts on here that explain how to do it online. Good luck.

[RC Maple]

I just received an email on Monday from the FDA saying the renewal period for those registrations is coming up from 10/1 to 12/31 and that I will need to re-register at that time. This must be an annual thing - probably a matter of time until you have to send in a fee to cover the cost of registering.

[Chicopee Sap Shack]

You only have to register with the FDA if 50% or more of your sales is bulk sales


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DrTimPerkins]

...FDA saying the renewal period for those registrations is coming up from 10/1 to 12/31 and that I will need to re-register at that time. This must be an annual thing

Renewal is biennial (every other year). For those who haven't seen it, the notice is attached below.

9834

[DrTimPerkins]

You only have to register with the FDA if 50% or more of your sales is bulk sales

There are at least as many interpretations of the requirements as there are FDA officials to ask. I believe that many of the maple associations have concluded that most maple producers who sell their product in any manner are required to register.

[lakeview maple]

Thanks for the clarification Dr Tim

[CharlieVT]

Was wondering what Bascoms expectations are for buying bulk syrup. Also what is the criteria for sugarhouse certification. Do we register with the FDA? and if so why because the FDA has already stated maple syrup as a low risk food. Is this another overreaching mandate by big brother?

Here's Bruce's corner:
http://www.bascommaple.com/bruces-corner/

[RC Maple]

I didn't remember the registration being an every two year thing. I'm glad to know that. They must have just sent that to every producer that has registered with them.

[DrTimPerkins]

Is this another overreaching mandate by big brother?

Registration was originally put in place due to the possibility of bioterrorism.

Most of the food safety standards and certification issues are not being driven by the Federal Government (at least at the moment), but are largely being required by the large industrial food ingredient purchasers. They are asking for more and more information and documentation about what is in a particular food product, how it is made, where it is made, who makes it, what type of inspections and quality control procedures are being done, and by whom. These issues are trickling down from the larger syrup buyers/packers to the maple producers.

One way for the packers to demonstrate to their industrial buyers and to limit their exposure is to only buy from producers who are certified in some way. I suspect that if you're not certified within the next 10 yrs or so, you won't be selling to a packer. The days of bringing your mud-covered (if not something else) lead-soldered, galvanized barrel or plastic tote (that once held pipeline sanitizer) or highly substandard syrup in to a packer and walking away with a reasonable return are gone. Good riddance.

[NhShaun]

So if i was to just be selling to family, some friends and friends of friends i wouldn't have to register?>This isn't large scale or extremely profitable by any means. But i would rather avoid crossing any legal lines regardless of how small my operation might be.