new business-grease traps

L

libby

New Member
I'm hoping to start a little business out of my home. It's super small, just hoping to get some special orders for my product.
I learned from the Health Dept. yesterday that a minimum 1000lb grease trap is required. Now, I don't know much about this sort of thing, but when I consider my product, there is no grease, and nothing perishable, and that requirement seems that it will shut me down before I start. Does anyone know if there are waivers to be applied for?
How does the little hot dog cart get past this? How about the canned relishes and such at the local farm stands?
Any ideas?
 
NorthBeachPerso

NorthBeachPerso

Honorary SMIB
Hot dog carts are a different class of business.


The grease traps are required generally when you're hooked into public sewer, grease is one of the most common causes of sewer blockages around any food preparation place and generally overall.


Did they require stainless steel prep surfaces?
 
Baja28

Baja28

Obama destroyed America
libby said:
I'm hoping to start a little business out of my home. It's super small, just hoping to get some special orders for my product.
I learned from the Health Dept. yesterday that a minimum 1000lb grease trap is required. Now, I don't know much about this sort of thing, but when I consider my product, there is no grease, and nothing perishable, and that requirement seems that it will shut me down before I start. Does anyone know if there are waivers to be applied for?
How does the little hot dog cart get past this? How about the canned relishes and such at the local farm stands?
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
This is why people don't tell the bureaucrats what they're doing. :yay:
 
L

libby

New Member
NorthBeachPerso said:
Hot dog carts are a different class of business.


The grease traps are required generally when you're hooked into public sewer, grease is one of the most common causes of sewer blockages around any food preparation place and generally overall.


Did they require stainless steel prep surfaces?
Click to expand...

I'm not on public sewer or water. They did say they'd be testing my water, and I was told that I need cleanable, non-porous surfaces, which is easy enough to accomodate. Even requiring the commercial stove, vent hood, fridge, etc. is understandable, but the grease trap requirement, if there is no waiver options, is going to prevent me from trying.
Hot dogs are a bigger problem than what I'm doing. There is no grease or waste to speak of at all.
So far then, no one here knows of a waiver option?
 
onebdzee

onebdzee

off the shelf
libby said:
I'm hoping to start a little business out of my home. It's super small, just hoping to get some special orders for my product.
I learned from the Health Dept. yesterday that a minimum 1000lb grease trap is required. Now, I don't know much about this sort of thing, but when I consider my product, there is no grease, and nothing perishable, and that requirement seems that it will shut me down before I start. Does anyone know if there are waivers to be applied for?
How does the little hot dog cart get past this? How about the canned relishes and such at the local farm stands?
Any ideas?
Click to expand...

If you are not going very big with this(at this time) why are you concerning yourself with the health department?

I think that the health department regulation may be for a larger facility
 
L

libby

New Member
onebdzee said:
If you are not going very big with this(at this time) why are you concerning yourself with the health department?

I think that the health department regulation may be for a larger facility
Click to expand...

Don't I have to go through them to be legal? Wouldn't the health dept guy tell me if the requirement didn't apply to me?
 
SoMdDude

SoMdDude

New Member
Your post is confusing....are you starting a hot dog cart? Then you say you are looking for special orders for your product?

Then you mention the health department and grease traps...hotdog stands dont need those since most hotdog stands boil their hotdogs LOL


What are you starting exactly?? What is your "product"?


Also a 1000lb grease trap is fliping HUGE! My family owns a restaurant with a grill and we only have like a 100gallon one
 
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Merlin99

Merlin99

Visualize whirled peas
PREMO Member
SoMdDude said:
Your post is confusing....are you starting a hot dog cart? Then you say you are looking for special orders for your product?

Then you mention the health department and grease traps...hotdog stands dont need those since most hotdog stands boil their hotdogs LOL


What are you starting exactly?? What is your "product"?


Also a 1000lb grease trap is fliping HUGE! My family owns a restaurant with a grill and we only have like a 100gallon one
Click to expand...
Huh, I thought it was very easy to read, must come from reading truly confusing things like Andy and Clem. She's starting a business, probably with food prep involved (because of her later added equipment list) and the health dept. told her she needed a 1000 lb grease trap. She then drew comparisons to other similar sized businesses, who also did food prep.
And I agree a half ton grease trap is huge, even for a full sized restaurant.
 
L

libby

New Member
Merlin99 said:
Huh, I thought it was very easy to read, must come from reading truly confusing things like Andy and Clem. She's starting a business, probably with food prep involved (because of her later added equipment list) and the health dept. told her she needed a 1000 lb grease trap. She then drew comparisons to other similar sized businesses, who also did food prep.
And I agree a half ton grease trap is huge, even for a full sized restaurant.
Click to expand...

You've said it exactly,I hope this explains it to the previous poster. I know I didn't misunderstand the requirement; the HD guy wrote it down.
 
NorthBeachPerso

NorthBeachPerso

Honorary SMIB
The Health Department (which is a State thing even though they're based in Counties) has become real aggressive the last couple years. They went after the Amish, sends inspectors to the various Farmer's Markets (a note to all you dumbasses that insist on taking your dog with you to Farmer's Markets or any festival that serves food, that ends the end of this year), have shut down kid's lemonade stands and regularly scan for anyone cooking to sell out their home, like the OP.
 
L

libby

New Member
NorthBeachPerso said:
The Health Department (which is a State thing even though they're based in Counties) has become real aggressive the last couple years. They went after the Amish, sends inspectors to the various Farmer's Markets (a note to all you dumbasses that insist on taking your dog with you to Farmer's Markets or any festival that serves food, that ends the end of this year), have shut down kid's lemonade stands and regularly scan for anyone cooking to sell out their home, like the OP.
Click to expand...

I was just looking at the code on St. Mary's Gov't website, and the grease trap is, understandably, for grease drainage. What if your product does not product grease? What if there are only two ingredients in your product? Any additions to the product are just...garnish...
 
NorthBeachPerso

NorthBeachPerso

Honorary SMIB
libby said:
I was just looking at the code on St. Mary's Gov't website, and the grease trap is, understandably, for grease drainage. What if your product does not product grease? What if there are only two ingredients in your product? Any additions to the product are just...garnish...
Click to expand...

Call and ask, I can't answer to the specific code, nor do I think anyone else on here right now can.

For something earlier, a 100lb grease trap would work out to about 1000 gallons (water weighs 8 pounds/gallon as reference).
 
L

libby

New Member
NorthBeachPerso said:
Call and ask, I can't answer to the specific code, nor do I think anyone else on here right now can.

For something earlier, a 100lb grease trap would work out to about 1000 gallons (water weighs 8 pounds/gallon as reference).
Click to expand...

OHHHH!!! So, wait a minute! Maybe he said 1000 gallon instead of 1000 lb.! I may have written it down wrong when he said it! That will be a HUGE load off!
 
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