Food Safety Plan for Acidified and Fermented Foods
Before getting started, review the following information.
When is a food safety plan required? A food safety plan is required if you are making
acidified or fermented foods and are not following a recipe approved by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) National Center for Home Food Preservation or any state cooperative extension
office. A food safety plan is not required for canned tomatoes or canned tomato products because the
producer must follow exactly an approved recipe from the USDA National Center for Home Food
Preservation or any cooperative extension office OR provide a lab-certified pH test for the recipe and any
variations on the recipe.
How many food safety plans do I need? A completed food safety plan is required for each
acidified or fermented product that undergoes a different production process. The food safety plan is
focused on "processes" and not individual recipes. It is not required for every variation of a recipe. For
example, if you make sweet pickles and sour pickles using the same pickling process, only one food safety
plan is needed. If you make kimchi and pickles, two food safety plans are needed.
Is a pH test from a laboratory required as part of my food safety plan? Yes. You must submit
lab-tested pH results with your food safety plan as evidence that your plan is safe. Your food safety plan
may cover several recipe variations; however, you are only required to submit your pH test lab results for
one recipe.
How often must I complete a food safety plan? The food safety plan must be re-submitted
every three years to your local health department with your cottage food registration. In addition, your
local health department should be notified of any updates to your plan within that three-year span. The
addition of any new products also requires the submission of a new food safety plan. For example, if you
have registered your cottage food operation to make kimchi but want to add sauerkraut to your product
line half way through the year, you must notify your local health department and complete a food safety
plan for the sauerkraut.
What are critical control points? A step at which control can be applied and is essential to
prevent or to eliminate a food safety hazard or to reduce it to an acceptable level.
What are critical limits? Critical limits are the acceptable levels in which your critical control
points must function. Critical limits must be measurable. For example, the critical limit for the final pH of
your product is 4.6 or below. When critical limits are not met, your final product is at risk. A plan must be
in place for corrective action. For example, what will you do when the refrigerated product is held at a
temperature above 41 degrees F? What if the final product tests above 4.6 pH?
Do I need to train friends, family, and employees that help me prepare my products? Yes.
Anyone who prepares and packages food on your behalf must be trained to follow the food safety plan you
outline below.
