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South Carolina Food Laws and Regulations: How to sell foods in South Carolina
South Carolina Food Laws, Regulations and Facts
If you do not meet the requirements of the South Carolina cottage food law, Cottage Bill (SC 44-1-143 H): you may still be able to make and sell
the foods you make, but only if you follow the specific requirements below.
First check to see if you meet the definition of a Home-Based Food Producer.
If not, see below:
Manufacturing, packaging and selling a food product in South Carolina
To manufacture, package and sell a food product in South Carolina, which is under the jurisdiction of the South Carolina Department of
Agriculture (SCDA). must meet the following regulations:
- Prepared in a SC approved facility, like a licensed commercial kitchen, or
through a copacker. (Note: a home kitchen is not an approved facility).
See this page for
commercial kitchens in South Carolina.
- Training: You and your food handling employees may need ServSafe training. See the training section below.
- Registered using a Registration Verification Certificate, which initiates an inspection by SCDA to verify the safety of your facility
and food production process and that it meets all state and federal regulations.
- Labels: Your product label has been reviewed by SCDA.
- Inspections: Complies with regular unannounced inspections of your facility and process by SCDA.
- Testing may be required, such as pH, Water Activity, Moisture, Microbiological Testing, etc.. See this
food product testing decision tree. Also see the
SC
Product Testing Form and SC
Product Testing Fact Sheet
- Additional regulations may be required depending on the type of food product that you are producing.
Definitions:
- "Home-based food production operation"
means an individual, operating out of the individual's dwelling,
who prepares, processes, packages, stores, and distributes
nonpotentially hazardous foods for sale directly to a person.
- "Nonpotentially hazardous foods" are candy
and baked goods that are not potentially hazardous foods.
- "Person" means an individual
consumer.
- "Potentially hazardous foods"
includes:
(a) an animal food that is raw or heat-treated; a
plant food that is heat-treated or consists of raw seed sprouts;
cut melons; cut leafy greens; cut tomatoes or mixtures of cut
tomatoes not modified to prevent microorganism growth or toxin
formation; garlic-in-oil mixtures not modified to prevent
microorganism growth or toxin formation;
(b) certain foods
that are designated as Product Assessment Required (PA) because
of the interaction of the pH and Aw values in these foods. Below
is a table indicating the interaction of pH and Aw for control
of spores in food heat-treated to destroy vegetative cells and
subsequently packaged.
Foods in Item 2 in the table above with a pH value greater than
5.6 and foods in item (3) with a pH value greater than 4.6 are
considered potentially hazardous unless a
product assessment is conducted pursuant to the 2009 Federal
Drug Administration Food Code.
- DHEC Defines Candy As:
Candies and confectioneries
(confectioneries are candies, delicacies or sweets that have
sugar as a principal ingredient, combined with coloring matter
and/or flavoring). Candies have low water content and do not
require refrigeration for safety.
Candy coated nuts
Candy
coated dried fruits
Candy coated popcorn
Cotton candy
Candy apples
Popcorn balls
Chocolate-covered high-acid
uncooked fruits such as strawberries, cranberries, or cherries
are considered non-potentially hazardous.
- DHEC Defines a Baked Good As:
Loaf breads
Rolls
Biscuits
Baked cookies
Baked granola
Baked cakes
Baked high-acid fruit pies (apple, apricot, grape, peach, plum,
quince, orange, nectarine, blackberry, raspberry, boysenberry,
cherry, cranberry, strawberry, red currants). NOTE: These
products are not allowed unless product testing demonstrates
that these products are non-potentially hazardous - therefore
not requiring refrigeration for safety.
Licensing
In South Carolina, Food Production Law is overseen by SCDHEC. As noted above, the kitchen and foods must be registered, inspected and a permit
issued by SCDHEC.
You must also get a business license for tax purposes.
You should also check with local zoning requirements
Training
ServSafe® food safety training uses material from the National Restaurant Association (NRA) and is taught by Clemson University Extension Agents
who are Registered ServSafe® Proctors and Certified ServSafe® Instructors by the NRA. There are different levels and types of training and courses
offered, online and in person. Below is a brief overview. Contact Frances Seel at cesfsn@clemson.edu for
more information. Prices below are from March 2021.
- Manager Training & Exam - 1 day (7.5 hours) $135 per person. This course is Appropriate for restaurant managers and assistant
managers, chefs, dietitians, culinary arts instructors, school food service managers, Family and Consumer Science instructors, and others. The
ServSafe® Manager 7th Edition Book that accompanies this course should be purchased here.
- ServSafe® Food Handler Course and Exam, 4 hours - $40 per person. Participants who successfully complete this ANSI ASTM 2659
accredited Food Handler course and 40-question exam, graded by the National Restaurant Association, will receive a ServSafe® Food Handler
Certificate
- ServSafe® Exam Only - $75 per person if taken with already scheduled training. This option is for food service professionals who have
previously been ServSafe® certified and are looking to renew their certificate without additional training.
- Employee Training - ServSafe® Food Handler Course. 4 hours - $25 per person. This course is taught using the ServSafe® Food Handler
Guide book.
General Safety Recommendations (independent of the above)
Beyond the requirements, common sense, good practices and
reducing liability suggests you should do the following.
Testing of pH
It's best to use a pH meter, properly calibrated on the day
used. I use this one, which is reliable and inexpensive.
And this pH meter is really good, but isn't always available.
Short-range paper
pH test strips, commonly known as litmus paper, may be used
instead, if the product normally has a pH of 4.0 or lower and the
paper's range includes a pH of 4.6.
Record-keeping is suggested
Keep a written record of every batch of product made for sale,
including:
- Recipe, including procedures and ingredients
- Amount canned and sold
- Canning date
- Sale dates and locations
- Gross sales receipts
- Results of any pH test
Sanitation
Although inspections are not required, you should consider doing
the following:
- Use clean equipment that has been effectively sanitized
prior to use
- Clean work surfaces and then sanitize with bleach water
before and after use
- Keep ingredients separate from other unprocessed foods
- Keep household pets out of the work area
- Keep walls and floors clean
- Have adequate lighting
- Keep window and door screens in good repair to keep insects
out
- Wash hands frequently while working
- Consider annual testing of water if using a private well
Best Practices
- Allergens: Most state home baking
acts require an "ingredient statement" and/or an "allergen
listing" on the label of the bakery item for sale; but if your
state does not, you should anyway. The eight major food
allergens are
- milk,
- eggs,
- fish,
- crustacean shellfish,
- tree nuts,
- peanuts,
- wheat and
- soybean.
- Cross-allergenicity: There are also
ingredients available, even flours, that can cause a
cross-allergenicity. The American Academy of Allergy Asthma &
Immunology explains cross-allergenicity as an allergic reaction
when proteins in one substance are similar to the proteins found
in another substance. For example, consumption of lupine flour
may trigger an allergic reaction to peanuts, and cricket flour
may trigger an allergic reaction to shellfish. Again, providing
such information might be a beneficial marketing tool and help
keep potential consumers safe.
- The 2 Hour/4 Hour Rule - Anyone
wishing to make and sell refrigerated bakery items should
remember to follow the "2 Hour/4 Hour Rule." This is a system
that can be implemented when potentially hazardous foods are out
of temperature control (temperatures greater than 45 degrees
Fahrenheit) during preparation, serving or display for sale. The
rule guidelines are as follows:
- If a potentially hazardous food has been out of
temperature control for 2 hours or less, then it may
continue to be used or be placed back in the refrigerator.
- If a potentially hazardous food has been out of
temperature control for more than 2 hours but less than 4
hours, it needs to be used quickly or discarded.
- If a potentially hazardous food has been out of
temperature control for more than 4 hours, it must be
discarded.
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