Commercial Kitchens and Co Packing Throughout Kentucky

FSIC regularly interacts with large and small producers throughout the region, and sometimes we get asked about where to find a Commercial Kitchen.

Commercial Kitchens are FDA approved facilities available for shared use by producers and home-based processors.  They typically require the individual to seek their own licensing, such as the KY Homebased Microprocessing or the FDA Acidified Food requirements, and are a very good place to produce small batches of product to get your business started!

Most kitchens are equipped for baked goods, freezing and refrigerating, or canning acidic foods like jams, pickles, or sauces.

We've recently updated our list of Commercial Kitchens as of 2015, so please contact us if you don't see your commercial kitchen listed!

Occasionally a product is unable to be produced in a commercial kitchen due to special processing (pressure canning) or different inspection needs (USDA).

In this case we typically tell them to outsource to a Co Packer, which can be difficult for small producers.  A Co Packer is a contracted company that produces many brands of foods for a variety of producers.  They have more industrial equipment to make large batches of product, and can sometimes be regulated under the USDA instead of FDA. Very few companies advertise their services, as there are always more customers than co packers, so there is very limited information on finding these businesses.

Some packers, such as Flavorman in KY, specialize in particular products like beverages.
Others process acidified foods, like KHI Foods, or only organic products, like Whole Alternatives in KY.  A few companies, like Sunapple Co. in OH, are expanding to pack a variety of products including HACCP regulated ones.
A good place to start is to perform a web search for companies that produce a similar product, and contact them to see if they would co pack your product.  Some websites are available with links to multiple packers, such as SpecialtyFoodCoPackers.com, but these external sites may not be updated regularly.

Good luck to all the food entrepreneurs out there looking for commercial kitchens and co packers!

March 2015 HACCP Certification Course available for registration!

Each year, the University of Kentucky Food Systems Innovation Center offers a 2 day certification course for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP).

This is a two day program intended to provide the food manufacturer or food safety professional with a complete package of information and knowledge base to enable HACCP program design. This program covers the 7 principles of HACCP in depth and provides the opportunity to apply those principles by designing a specific HACCP plan. Participants who successfully complete the course will be HACCP certified and registered with the International HACCP Alliance.

Sign up online here!

Training Dates: March 26th & 27th, 2015

Registration Fee: $185.00

Registration open from January 20‐ March 13, 2015

TASTE with the FSIC and have your opinion heard. Sign up to be a panelist!

The Food Systems Innovation Center is continuously recruiting individuals to be part of applied research activities involving food products at the University of Kentucky. These activities are also referred to as sensory panels or sensory evaluations, consumer panels or taste panels and often involve no more than 30-45 minutes of your time. Most will take place at the sensory laboratory located in W.P. Garrigus Building. Occasionally, these projects may take a little longer and depending on the project could also include payment. These projects are always interesting and a learning experience for those inclined to participate.

This is an open call for anyone interested in participating in sensory studies through the Food Systems Innovation Center.

Please register to be in our pool of panelists by clicking here and creating your panelist profile by responding to a few questions.

We will contact you with future panels as needed.  

Thank you

Register for future sensory panels here