/Learn

The food-safety knowledge most operators get wrong.

Plain-English guides to FSMA, SFCR, HACCP, audits, recalls, allergens, and the rules that decide whether your small food business stays in business. Grouped by the question you're trying to answer — start with the HACCP pillar if you're writing a plan from scratch, jump to FSMA 204 if you ship product across state lines, head to audit prep if an inspector is on the calendar.

/HACCP

HACCP

The 7-principle backbone every plan starts from — what HACCP is, how to write one, and the points an auditor pulls off your shelf first.

Start hereUpdated 2026

What is a HACCP plan?

Your buyer or inspector just told you that you need one. Here's the plain-English version — what HACCP is, who has to have it, and how much it actually costs to build.

Andrew Langevin· 2026-06-03· 11 min read

Updated 2026HACCPCodex Alimentarius

The 7 HACCP principles, explained by an operator.

Every food safety regulation in North America traces back to the same seven principles. Here's the plain-English version, with a worked example from my own CFIA-licensed mushroom facility for each one.

Andrew Langevin· 2026-06-04· 12 min read

Updated 2026HACCPHow-to

How to write a HACCP plan from scratch.

Twelve numbered steps, in order. About 40 to 80 hours of work on top of the training. Here's the sequence I followed when I wrote my own approved plan, the mistakes I made along the way, and what each step actually has to produce.

Andrew Langevin· 2026-06-04· 14 min read

/FDA & FSMA

FDA & FSMA

What the Food Safety Modernization Act actually demands of small operators, including the July 20, 2028 FSMA 204 traceability compliance date.

Start hereUpdated 2026

FSMA — what it is, what rules apply to you, and how to actually comply.

Seven rules from one law, signed in 2011 by President Obama. Most small operators have absorbed bits and pieces from contradictory sources. Here's the plain map of FSMA, who each rule applies to, and what changed in 2025.

Andrew Langevin· 2026-06-03· 14 min read

Updated 2026FDATraceability

FSMA 204 — the food traceability rule.

If you handle leafy greens, soft cheese, eggs, melons, fresh herbs, or any of about 15 other foods on the FDA's list, this rule is for you. Here's the plain version of what you'll owe by July 20, 2028.

Andrew Langevin· 2026-06-03· 9 min read

/Starting a food business

Starting a food business

Cottage law by state, food-truck startup costs, and the licensing decisions in the first 90 days you'll live with for years.

Updated 2026Startup costsTier 1 / Pillar

How much does it cost to start a food truck?

The honest range is $50,000 to $200,000, with most operations landing between $85,000 and $120,000. The truck is rarely the part that wrecks you — commissary fees, permits, and the working-capital reserve are what end most food trucks in month four.

Andrew Langevin· 2026-06-03· 13 min read

Updated 2026StartingCottage food

Can I sell food from home? The state-by-state answer.

Yes — in every U.S. state and most Canadian provinces, you can sell certain foods from your home kitchen without a commercial license. But what's legal in Wyoming is illegal in Wisconsin, and shipping across state lines is almost never allowed. Here's the actual map.

Andrew Langevin· 2026-06-04· 11 min read

/Certifications

Certifications

Food handler cards vs. food manager certifications — who needs which, who accepts which, and how to avoid the fake-provider trap.

Updated 2026CertificationsFrontline staff

Food handler card: what it is, who needs one, how to get it.

Your boss said you have 30 days to get a food handler card. Here is what that card actually is, which states make you have one, what it costs, and how to get it without picking a fake provider.

Andrew Langevin· 2026-06-04· 10 min read

Updated 2026CertificationsManager

Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM): the actual playbook.

Your state requires one certified manager on staff. Here is what that means, who has to take the exam, what it costs, and how to keep the certificate from quietly lapsing the week the inspector walks in.

Andrew Langevin· 2026-06-04· 11 min read

/Audit prep

Audit prep

The playbook for the five business days before an inspector walks in — what they pull, what they ask, what to fix first.

Updated 2026Audit prepInspection

How to pass a food safety inspection — operator playbook.

Inspectors are looking for specific things. Here is what they actually open binders for, what they pull off shelves, what they ask line cooks, and what to do in the five business days before they show up.

Andrew Langevin· 2026-06-04· 13 min read

/Sanitation

Sanitation

Environmental monitoring, swab maps, and the cleaning-program math that finds Listeria before the FDA does.

Updated 2026SanitationEMP

Environmental monitoring programs that find Listeria before the FDA does.

An environmental monitoring program that never finds anything is broken. Here is the swab-map, the trending math, and the positive-Zone-1 response I would hand a small RTE plant building one from scratch.

Andrew Langevin· 2026-06-04· 13 min read

/Enforcement & penalties

Enforcement & penalties

FDA Form 483s, warning letters, and what it actually costs when a small operator gets one.

Updated 2026EnforcementTier 1 / Pillar

FDA Form 483 — what it is and how to respond.

An FDA inspector just handed you a list of observations. You have 15 business days, the rule is technically voluntary, and missing this step is the single best predictor of a warning letter. Here's the plain-English response playbook.

Andrew Langevin· 2026-06-03· 14 min read

/Food-safety basics

Food-safety basics

The why behind the rules — the outbreak cases that justify every shortcut you don't take.

Updated 2026Food Safety BasicsBeginner

Why is food safety important? The operator answer.

One in six Americans gets sick from food every year. The four cases below are why every shortcut you take in your kitchen has a worst-case version — and why writing things down is the cheapest insurance you'll ever buy.

Andrew Langevin· 2026-06-04· 9 min read