Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ralph Behrendt on August 25, 2009 at 5:28am

All states have different regulations. You probably need to speak with the Calif. State Dept of Ag. . They generally regulate who you can sell to, labeling etc. You may also have to be inspected by them, and or the USDA. Good Luck!

Permalink Reply by Joseph Plaugher on August 25, 2009 at 8:03am

Thanks, I hadn't tried the Dept. of Ag. yet. Good idea!

Ralph Behrendt said:

All states have different regulations. You probably need to speak with the Calif. State Dept of Ag. . They generally regulate who you can sell to, labeling etc. You may also have to be inspected by them, and or the USDA. Good Luck!

Permalink Reply by Patrick Bock on September 8, 2009 at 1:27pm

I have a wholesale roasting company in several cities in California. Most regulations are county based, then city based. You will need a wholesale food permit from the state. Depending on the county you will need a permit from the local air pollution control board. Requirements and costs depends on the size of the roaster. Most requirement are the same for a retail roaster. The building needs to be clean, bug and rodent proof. All food goods and that includes green coffee beans must be stored off the floor. Pallets are Ok. You need a stainless three compartment sink with hot and cold water. a hand wash sink. Maybe an air blower over doors. Depends on county. Coffee roasting is classified Industrial 2 for wholesale roasters. Make sure your shop is zoned for use.

Most counties require an afterburner for the roaster. Make sure you have good gas service. Afterburners use a lot of gas. Most are rated at 750,000 btu +. Be ready for the bill about 1400 a month

I was a wholesale coffee roaster for 6 years in California till I moved. I was fined to death. I had all the pollution control equipment required. But if I opened my roll up door a little coffee oder would get out. I had one neighbor who hated the smell of coffee and would call the APCD air pollution control board. Several times a week. Even thought the APCD could not find anything wrong with our operation we got fined several thousand dollars a month. We had to move.

I chose Texas. Call APCD and asked about regulations. First think they asked me was how many million of pound of coffee was I planing on roasting. I said we do about 300,000. They said they don't even what to know about us. No permits required. I had one complaint since we moved here and the local APCD came out. Found nothing wrong and suggest to the neighbor they should move. What a difference.

First rule don't assume everyone is going to love the smell of roasting coffee. Be very careful about picking your location. Be prepared to roast during off hours. One location was close to homes and we had to roast from 11 pm to 5 am.

Permalink Reply by Nathan Johnson on October 2, 2009 at 2:11pm

Patrick...great information. I'm in the same situation as the original poster, Joseph, living in California. I want to start a very small wholesale roasting operation. I've decided to start by getting city approval for the wholesale roasting business (i.e. a use permit) and then applying for the state's (PFR) processed food registration, which is the basic state health dept. permit for food manufacturing/processing.

My question is, How to prepare for the state health dept or PFR inspection?

It would be nice to know in advance what the requirements are for a small facility with no employees solely used for roasting and packaging coffee.

I have a 300 sq. ft. accessory building on my property, with full plumbing, sewer, electric, concrete floor, roll-up door, windows with screens. But it's a blank slate. How do I build it out so it passes CA state health dept muster. I can't seem to find any information although I did not your recommendations (clean, rodent-proof, green coffee on pallets, 3-tub sink, hand wash sink). Is that it?

Anyone in CA have experience planning and passing a state health dept. inspection for a small wholesale roastery and can share their experiences?

I'd be very grateful.