Top tips for food producers moving from a home kitchen to their first commercial kitchen!

Moving from a home kitchen to a commercial kitchen can be a significant step for a food producer on their growth journey. It allows for increased production but can also come with more regulations and compliance requirements. 

Here are some tips to remember when making the change: 

1. Understand the regulations: Before making the move, it is important to ensure food producers understand the regulations that apply to commercial kitchens. This includes food safety regulations, allergen management and labelling regulations amongst others. Compliance is vital to avoid penalties and ensures consumer safety is maintained. 
2. Conduct a risk assessment: Food producers must conduct a risk assessment of their new kitchen to identify any potential hazards. This helps in focusing and addressing any issues before they become a problem. 
3. Invest in the right equipment: Investing in the right equipment for the new kitchen is important for success. This may include large-scale cooking and food preparation equipment, refrigeration and storage. It is important to have the right equipment to ensure efficient and safe food production is being carried out from the beginning. 
4. Implement a food safety management system: Implementing a food safety management system ensures compliance with regulations and customer safety from the get-go. This can include procedures for allergen management, food handling and sanitation. NotaZone’s production and HACCP modules are especially useful for these purposes. 
5. Staff training: When staff are properly trained on the food management system and the regulations that apply to commercial kitchens, they are able to work safely and efficiently in the new kitchen. 
6. Packaging and Labelling: As production increases, it is important to ensure that the packaging and labelling are in line with all regulations regarding ingredients, allergen information and expiry dates. 
7. Building relationships: Building relationships with suppliers, customers and regulatory agencies are helpful in ensuring that food production is carried out smoothly. Establishing delivery schedules with suppliers and ensuring production plans are in line with customer needs is the key to an efficiently run kitchen. 

Moving from a home kitchen to a commercial kitchen is a big leap for a food producer on their growth journey. Tools such as NotaZone ensure food producers have vital food safety and compliance information on hand along with control over their stock and orders. This can play a big part in the transition and getting back to production quickly and easily. 

If you would like to get started with a stock control and food traceability platform, get in touch to book your free demo.