Specialized Food Processes can be used to preserve food, extend food shelf life, or make food shelf stable. Processes like reduced oxygen packaging, smoking, curing, drying, fermenting, or juicing foods have a high risk of getting someone sick. To make sure food prepared using a Special Process is safe to eat, approvals from local or State agencies are needed.
You will need approval to do any Special Food Process, and you may be required to submit a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Plan. A HACCP Plan shows hazards and food safety control measures for processed foods. A good HACCP Plan shows the “flow” of food from the beginning of the process all the way to selling to the customer. It includes guidelines on how the food will be received, processed, held, and delivered to the consumer in a safe manner and varies depending on the type of food product being made.
Some Special Food Processes can be approved by the Riverside County Environmental Health Department.
If you would like to know more about submitting a HACCP Plan or getting approval for the following processes, contact Sarah Crossman at 951-766-2824 or by email.
- Bottling juice
- Making Sushi Rice
- Brewing Kombucha Tea
- Making yogurt for table service
- Operating a molluscan shellfish tank
- Sprouting seeds or beans
- Growing microgreens
- Any other Special Food Process
To request a review of a HACCP plan, microbial challenge study, or lab analysis, submit a Special Process Review Application and support documentation to Sarah Crossman.
The following Special Food Processes must be approved by The Riverside County Department of Environmental Health and additional agencies such as the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
- Curing
- Smoking for preservation
- Drying or rendering meat
The Following Special Food Processes must be approved by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), Food and Drug Branch.
- Reduced Oxygen Packaging (ROP)
- Variances
