Selling it

Who inspects you

Updated October 2026

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The food side is straightforward The emissions side is not Chaff is a fire question as well as a waste one Describe the whole operation Ask about the venue too Record who told you what Pest control is the one they will look at References

The food inspection here is light by this library’s standards, and the attention usually comes from a different direction.

The food side is straightforward

A dry goods operation with no refrigeration, no process control and no critical limits. Compared with dairy or an acidified food the requirements are modest, and the inspection is mostly about premises, pest control and labeling.

The emissions side is not

Roasting produces smoke, smell and chaff, and those are regulated by air quality and local nuisance rules rather than by food law. This is the one that stops projects, and it is worth asking about before signing a lease rather than after installing a roaster.

Chaff is a fire question as well as a waste one

It is light, dry and accumulates, and roasters have a known fire risk associated with it. Expect a fire authority to have views on how your roaster is installed and vented, and factor that into the siting decision.

Describe the whole operation

Roasting, grinding, blending, packing and anything else made on the same equipment. A flavored product or a tisane with botanicals raises its own questions and it is better to raise them yourself.

Ask about the venue too

A market stall, a wholesale route to cafes, a retail shelf and mail order can sit differently. An answer about whether you may roast does not settle where you may sell.

Record who told you what

Name, date, what you described and what they said, and keep the air quality conversation in the same file as the food one. Two departments means two sets of guidance and twice the opportunity for them to be remembered differently later.

Pest control is the one they will look at

Dry goods in sacks is exactly what a stored product pest wants, and green coffee arrives from agricultural supply chains. A documented pest control program is the part of a dry goods inspection that gets the most attention, and it is easy to have nothing written down.

References

21 CFR 101, Food Labeling, which carries the general requirements that apply here in the absence of a standard of identity: the statement of identity, net quantity, ingredient list and the name and place of business of the responsible party. law.cornell.edu

Michigan State University Extension. Cottage food law: which preserved products are covered. canr.msu.edu

Written from federal regulation and from the published physics and chemistry of staling, not from a laboratory. There is no standard of identity for coffee or tea, so most of what governs a product here is the general requirement that labels be truthful and claims be substantiated. Anything here is a starting point for a conversation with your state department of agriculture, not a determination that you comply.