Yes you can! When the Food Act changed in 2014 it made it easier for food businesses to be run from a home. Before that it was pretty difficult as you had to have a totally separate space from your home kitchen so it was expensive to set up. But now the law allows you to use a home kitchen, provided you control the extra risks that come from operating at home.
In a commercial kitchen you wouldn’t find things like pets, children or sick people, but these may be present in your home environment! Its important to identify these risks and put some procedures in place to ensure you control them.
Here are some things to think about and what you need to do about it:
Standard of your kitchen
You don’t need to have stainless steel benches everywhere or coving on the floor. You just need surfaces that are in good condition, cleanable and in good repair. That means no bare wood that absorbs water, no heavy scoring or damaged laminate that exposes the chipboard underneath. You need a sink with hot and cold running water, soap and paper towels, and you can use your dishwasher. Most modern home kitchens are a good enough standard these days.
Separation
You need to separate your business activities from your home activities either by place or by time. If you have a separate space like a second kitchen that’s great. If not you’ll need to separate by time, meaning that when you are using the kitchen for the business, you or other household members are not using the kitchen for household activities. Most people wait until the kids are at school and everyone else is at work and they have the place to themselves. Then they do their business activities, pack away and then it becomes the home kitchen again. This works for some, but consider what you’ll do if its school holidays or your partner works from home now.
Storage
You need to keep you home food and business food separate. And your equipment. A separate cupboard is good, or storage containers for the business. Separate fridges is ideal otherwise you’ll need a separate shelf or container inside. Fridges and freezers and equipment can be in the garage as long as everything is protected from contamination from dust and dirt and fuel and vehicle fumes. Storage boxes on shelving can be a good solution.
Sickness policy
Normally when someone is sick they wouldn’t be allowed to enter a business kitchen so they don’t contaminate food, surfaces and equipment and spread the infection around. This exclusion applies for 48 hours after the last symptoms to ensure they are not still carrying the infection. So consider how this will work in your home. What if your family members or kids are sick? You’ll need to apply the same sickness policy to everyone in your household. You wont be able to use your home kitchen for the business if anyone in the household is sick and for 48 hours after the last symptoms. This could end up being quite a long time if the sickness spreads around your family, like norovirus.
Pre-cleaning
If other people will be using the kitchen inbetween you using it for the business, you’ll need to sanitise all the surfaces before you start.
Pre-Start Checks
Before starting you’ll need to remove anything from the kitchen that you wouldn’t find in a commercial kitchen, eg pets and their bowls and bedding, dirty laundry and shoes, sports and gardening gear etc. You’ll need to be clean and wearing clean clothing. Check everyone is not sick and fit for work. Ensure home food like hunted meat or homekill etc is stored away from business food. Ensure there are plenty of handwashing materials like soap and paper towels/ kitchen roll/ single use towels. Check for pests, shut doors and windows to keep out flies if necessary. Its good to have a checklist of pre-start tasks, Contact me for a free checklist.
Water supply
If your home is not on the Council water supply, you’ll need to treat the water and have it sampled every year to prove its safe. Check out the water supply pages in the Food Control Plan or the National Programme Guidance for more details on what’s required.
Space and capacity
Some businesses are well suited for a home business, like cake decorating or small chutney production. However you can quickly run out of space when trying to scale up or if you use equipment that’s large. You’ll need space to store all your ingredients which may be bulky, plus safe storage for all the finished product and packaging. Check you have enough room to store everything.
Council rules
Most Councils have rules around what types of businesses you can run from home depending on your zoning. For example if you are in a residential area there may be a limit on things like deliveries to the home, staff, customers collecting food, signage, noise and odour. Best to check with your local Council directly what the rules are.
Outgrowing your home?
Consider hiring a kitchen like a church, community centre or sports club which are often empty during the week. You may be able to share kitchen space with another business in the area. There could be a local food hub or development facility or ghost kitchen premises nearby. If you operate at markets and events you could consider a mobile van or trailer that you can also prepare foods on at home. Or converting or building extra space at your property, which will likely involve building consents for plumbing and drainage etc.
Summary
In summary, yes you can run a food business from home. It can be especially useful when you first start out and want to assess the viability of your product or business. Just ensure you control all the extra risks. And recognize that at some point you may outgrow your home kitchen – congratulations if you do!