Inspector

[Maplewalnut]

Had an interesting visitor to the sugar house last night. A PA Dept of Ag Inspector. He commented he was driving by and he didn't know there were any sugarhouses in this part of the state and stopped. It was not an official inspection since it was more out of curiosity, but I gave him the dollar tour. Cordial guy but not sure he knew much about maple. He gave me a clean bill of health but did say he thought I had to be registered with the state. I told him my understanding was that if you produce less than 1000 gallons of finished product you are not required to apply for a license in Pa. He later admitted he was new to the position and told me he would follow up and let me know if I needed to register.

Anybody know differently?

[Jim Brown]

Maple walnut: you are correct 1000 gallon is the magic number,but it sure looks nice to the buiying public to have that Reg. with the Pa Dept of Ag on your stickers

Just my two cents

Jim

[gbilek]

It is my understanding that if you sell or give away syrup that goes beyond your farm gate, you are required to register and be inspected by the PA dept of Ag. I beleive that the fee was $30 or so. If you produce less then 1000 gal then the state waives the fee. I agree with Jim, we put the registration number on our label. It is a great sales tool.

[Mackdaddy]

Heck, if I was driving by and saw that nice brand new building I would have stopped as well. Pics look great! Hope you didn't have to change your shorts when he introduced himself!!!

[sugarnut]

i was reading through the regulations online and i think the 1000 gallon minimum for inspection stands as far as syrup is concerned, but in general you would still need to have facilities that are fit to produce food from...i.e. a facility that could be inspectable. that's the best i could do with what i was reading. it didn't really make sense...either you need an inspection or you don't. what i read said you don't under 1000 gallons and yet you do.

another interesting tidbit i read was that you can't sell any grade A or B that has crystal sugar in it. not sure about grade C...at least not from a retail shelf. i thought it would be neat to someday sell syrup with maple rock candy clinging to the bottom of a mason jar.

i think the regulations are as clear as mud and a bit restrictive if one attempts to market a new product.