In this episode, Dani invites back her long-time friend and resident food scientist, Michelle, to peel back the curtain on the less-glamorous-but-absolutely-crucial side of running a food business: product design and food safety.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• The difference between a hobby and a food business
  How product design and food safety are the line between “fun side project” and “real, sustainable business.”
• Questions to ask before you ever sell a product
  Where are you making it? How are you cooking it? How will you transport it? Will it be sold hot, cold, refrigerated, or frozen? What happens once it leaves your hands?
• Key food safety concepts every food entrepreneur should know
  • Water activity
  • pH
  • Brix
  • Storage conditions
    How these act as “barriers” to pathogen growth and why measuring them matters.
• Real-world cautionary tales
  • Cantaloupe cut & packed for retail that led to deaths—and jail time for the producer
  • Ice cream with cookie dough where the flour (not the eggs!) was the problem
  • Why flour bags now say “Do not consume raw” and what that means for bakers
• Designing for how customers actually use your product
  Pea salad, event cookies that sit out for days, buttercream cakes in warm cars—why your product design has to account for real-life behavior, not just ideal use.
• Brand consistency, scaling, and when not to grow
  • Why changing ingredients, suppliers, or process can completely shift your product
  • When it’s okay to not scale and instead adjust your pricing and capacity
  • How supply chain disruptions (like during COVID) exposed hidden weaknesses
• Where to get help with testing and product development
  • Local health departments and Departments of Agriculture
  • Land grant university extension programs
  • Food testing labs and Food Innovation Centers
  • Co-manufacturers that can help you scale safely
• The cost of testing vs. the cost of a recall (or lawsuit)
  Michelle shares actual price ranges for things like water activity, pH, Brix, and microbiological testing—and why they’re small compared to a rejected batch, a bad review, or someone getting seriously sick.

Resources Mentioned

• Local Health Department & Department of Agriculture
  Start here to understand licensing, inspection, and regulatory requirements in your state.
• Food Innovation Centers / Product Testing Labs
  For water activity, pH, Brix, micro testing, shelf-life studies, and sensory testing.
• University Extension Programs (Land Grant Universities)
  Great for food science resources, scaling recipes, and learning about safe processing.
• Co-manufacturers
  If you’re ready to move into wholesale, bulk, or retail distribution, co-packers can help you produce at scale while maintaining food safety standards.

Connect & Next Steps

If this episode has you rethinking your product, packaging, or process—in a good way—that’s exactly the work we dig into inside The Business of Baking.