Resources for the Guide to Regulatory Requirements and Compliance for Coffee Roasters

Additional links to accompany the original article seen in the November/December 2019 issue of Roast.

• U.S. Food and Drug Administration   |   fda.gov

Search “FSMA” to find a list of helpful resources. The FDA also offers a downloadable Food Safety Plan builder, which is more extensive than what’s needed for a coffee roaster but could give you some ideas on how to set up your documentation.

• U.S. Department of Agriculture   |   usda.gov

Search “organic program” for details on the National Organic Program. Also, do a generic search under “coffee” to call up a wealth of good coffee-specific information.

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration   |   osha.gov

Start by clicking on the “employer” tab and selecting “small business resources” to access valuable information, then peruse the whole site for more great resources. OSHA also offers online training, which is something to consider as you grow into a larger roasting space.

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency   |   epa.gov

Search “coffee roasting,” and you will find many documents on coffee roasting emissions, although they are very technical. There are more resources available on everything EPA at the websites listed below.

• Federal Trade Commission   |   ftc.gov

Click on “enforcement,” and then “rules” and “guides.” Scroll through them to find those most pertinent to coffee. If you distribute a range of other products, have a side business, or are thinking about expanding into areas outside of pure coffee roasting, you may find other rules and guides that will pertain to you.

• National Coffee Association   |   ncausa.org

The NCA has great resources on FSMA, PCQI training, coffee emissions, diacetyl and more. Most of the information is accessible only to NCA members, but some is available publicly as well.

• Food Marketing Institute   |   fmi.org

The Food Marketing Institute is an advocate for the retail food industry and offers all sorts of resources on food safety. While it is more retail-driven than wholesale coffee roasting, you will still find help and information.

• American Conference of Governmental Hygienists   |   acgih.org

A non-profit scientific organization focused on advancing occupational and environmental health.

• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry   |   atsdr.cdc.gov

ATSDR protects communities from harmful health effects related to exposure to natural and man-made hazardous substances. 

• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (CDC)   |   cdc.gov

The CDC works to develop new knowledge in the field of occupational safety and health, and to transfer that knowledge into practice.

• PCQI (Preventive Controls Qualified Individual) Training

You can find many local options for this training, as well as online options. However, a strong recommendation is to try and find one that is focused on coffee, so you learn to build a plan focused on your product and not over build your safety plan. Here are organizations that offer coffee-focused PCQI training:

National Coffee Association   |   ncausa.org
Ally Coffee Importers   |   allycoffee.com
Academy of Coffee Excellence   |   academyofcoffee.com
Firedancer Coffee Consultants   |   firedancercoffee.com