Food business glossary for makers and farms

A low-acid food with acid added so its finished pH is 4.6 or below, like many pickles, salsas and hot sauces. FDA has specific rules for these, including a scheduled process.

US labels must declare the nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame.

Total sales divided by number of orders. Raising it is often the cheapest way to make shipping costs work.

One production run of a recipe. Tracking batches is the base of lot codes, costing and recalls.

A quality date set by the maker, not a safety cutoff for most foods. Set it from testing, not a guess.

How many units come in one wholesale case, often 6 or 12. Stores order by the case.

A company that makes your product in its facility to your recipe. Useful once demand outgrows your kitchen.

Keeping a product at a safe temperature from production to the customer, including in the shipping box.

A licensed commercial kitchen you rent by the hour or month, used by makers who have outgrown cottage food rules.

A store holds your stock and pays you only for what sells. Lower risk for the store, slower cash for you.

Everything it costs to make one unit: ingredients, packaging, labels, labor and a share of overhead.

State rules that let people make certain lower-risk foods at home and sell them, usually directly to customers. What is allowed varies by state.

Community supported agriculture. Members pay up front for a season of farm shares, usually a weekly box.

Carriers charge by the larger of actual weight or a weight based on box size. Bulky cold boxes often bill at DIM weight.

A company that buys from you and sells to many stores. They take a margin, so you sell to them below your wholesale price.

Frozen carbon dioxide used to keep frozen food frozen in transit. Carriers treat it as a hazardous material: mark the box UN1845 with the weight, and never seal it airtight.

A written plan of the hazards in your process and how you control them. Required for many facilities under FSMA.

The Food Safety Modernization Act, the 2011 US law behind most current FDA food safety rules for facilities and farms.

A reusable pack of frozen gel used to keep refrigerated food cold in a shipping box. Freeze solid before use.

Good manufacturing practices. Baseline rules for clean facilities, equipment and handling.

Profit as a share of the price: (price minus cost) divided by price. A 50% margin means the price is double the cost.

The barcode numbers retailers use to identify a product. Licensed through GS1 US.

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. A system for finding where food can become unsafe and controlling those points, common for meat, juice and seafood.

Foam or fiber insulation that lines a shipping box to slow warming. Paired with gel packs or dry ice.

A retailer doubles the wholesale price to set retail. A $10 wholesale item sells for $20.

A code on each unit that ties it back to a batch, its ingredients and its date. Needed to run a recall and asked for by most stores.

Profit as a share of the cost. A 100% markup equals a 50% margin.

The smallest order a buyer can place, set by the maker or supplier, often a dollar amount or number of cases.

Manufacturer's suggested retail price. The shelf price you recommend to stores.

Payment terms: the buyer pays the invoice within 30 days. Common in wholesale, and a strain on cash flow.

The FDA nutrition label. Some small businesses qualify for an exemption; check FDA rules before you skip it.

A measure of acidity. Foods at pH 4.6 or below are acid or acidified foods, which changes which safety rules apply.

The register and card reader you sell with in person, ideally tied to your inventory and books.

An expert who reviews and sets a safe process for products like acidified or canned foods.

The documented steps, times and temperatures that make an acidified or low-acid canned food safe, set by a process authority.

The share of stock a store sold in a period. Stores reorder from makers whose products sell through.

How long a product keeps its safety and quality. Set it by testing, especially for anything sold wholesale.

Stock keeping unit. Your own code for each product and size, used for inventory.

A fee some larger retailers charge to put a new product on the shelf.

Being able to trace a product one step back to its ingredients and one step forward to who bought it.

The price you charge stores. Often about twice your cost, so the store can double it at retail.

How many sellable units a batch actually makes after losses. Cost per unit depends on it.