Legal Considerations to Know before Commencing a Food Business

Starting your own food business is exciting however, intimidating as well. Planning is the most crucial step when it comes to building up a successful business and while considering all the elements of it, legal areas require great attention. Once you have made up your mind on building a food business setup, there is a set of significant legal aspects to be dealt with. These areas are planned to safeguard consumer interests from various food borne illnesses and help you to follow proper procedures for your food business as well.

Business Licensing

The pivotal step is to get a business license from the local council. You need to deal with different rules and regulations while getting your business license, depending on its genre and area of operations. Keep note of the fact that if your business is about to deal with food which, is prepared for final consumption, then, you must address the proper authority. It will include businesses such as:

• ·         Restaurants
• ·         Cafes
• ·         Pubs
• ·         Mobile food units
• ·         Hotels
• ·         Charities that serve food
• ·         Community organizations     

Apart from these, other organizations that need to apply for a food license are:

·         Food processing companies

·         Aged and Child Care facilities

·         Tour operators for preparing snacks for customers    

Business Classification

Every nation has their own set of classifications while categorizing the food businesses. You will be able to figure out the exact business classification for getting the right license for your food business. It is advisable to consult an experienced Food lawyer regarding the same and provide sufficient classification information to the governing body. Generally, the classification is made on the basis of target audience, area of operations or locality of the business and type of products being served.

New Establishment or Renovation

Irrespective of whether you need to build a food business from the very scratch or you need to make extensive renovations which, will require some time to open, registration is an essential. Moreover, often local councils need you to register for the premises even before beginning the construction. You might need to verify with the local authority before starting the construction phase to know whether you need to register or not and whether your food business lies within the planning zone or not.

Safety Requirements

You need to comply with all the laws and regulations related to food safety. Consulting a skilled Food Lawyer in this case, will help you to build your business properly as well as handle the food when your firm is in operation. Going through the different food standards and preparing a food safety program for your business will help you to avoid the case of incurring fines or penalties and run your business ethically as well as efficiently.

Final word

Being an entrepreneur and having your own food business is pretty exciting. However, if you are not equipped with the right resources and tricks to deal with legal areas, then all your efforts might go in vain. Thus, be you are an aspiring entrepreneur about to step into the world of food business or an established tycoon, you must consider the legal complexities involved in it for its prolonged success.   

The Various Intricacies of Bankruptcy Litigations

For those unfortunate people who are forced to file for bankruptcy for the very first time in their life, the experience can be shameful and scary. There are many legal intricacies that are involved in bankruptcy and no doubt the whole process therefore becomes a daunting as well as confusing thing for a lay person. It takes time to understand what it involves and means as the very term of bankruptcy litigation is an alien term to many. This is why it is best to seek out the help of a litigation lawyer who can stand by your side and guide you through the entire process of all the legal paraphernalia associated with bankruptcy. It is impossible for a lay person to know everything that is involved in bankruptcy and it is only an experienced lawyer that can help a person who is neck deep in debt to get out of this unfortunate mess and start afresh. But though it is not possible to get a hang of everything that is involved in bankruptcy, you can get an idea as to what all it involves in a broader sense so that you can work more effectively with your lawyer. 

In your time of need, an experienced lawyer will be able to help you out through their experience and skills. And if you have made that extra effort to gather knowledge and educate yourself, then you will be able to help the lawyer to help you in getting out of bankruptcy litigation with minimum of losses suffered.  You can also monitor whether your lawyer is going in the right direction or not. Therefore learning about the specifics or the terms and conditions regarding bankruptcy laws will ultimately go in your favor though at this stressful time it might seem like a fruitless exercise.  The first thing that you should know is that bankruptcy is an action which is generally initiated either by you or by the creditors. There are two types of litigation, contested and uncontested litigation. There are differences between the two as is obvious by the terms.  It is upon the skills and negotiating powers of your lawyer and also your specific circumstances that will determine whether it will be a uncontested litigation or a contested one. 

There are many cases of personal bankruptcy litigation which is seen to get concluded in an uncontested process and do not go through litigation at all. As mentioned before it all depends on your creditors and your particular circumstances, and there can be chances that your case might get contested. It can so happen that you might have to turn over available liquid funds for distribution to creditors immediately according to the motion for turnover. Then again a lender could seek to essentially overrule the impact of the automatic stay with a motion for relief from automatic stay. If you're filing for a chapter 13 bankruptcy a trustee could potentially file an objection to the payment plan. A lender may file an objection to a discharge with claims that a particular debt is not dischargeable. Between your attorney and the money lender or the trustee the majority of cases which does become contested, can be handled pretty smoothly, hence It is not a good idea to contest a bankruptcy. A conclusion can be reached by means of negotiation and compromise hopefully foregoing the need to actually pursue courtroom actions of depositions, written discovery, and hearings. The support of an knowledgeable bankruptcy lawyer can handle matters relating to this kind of litigation as well as effectively guide you through the complete process. Contested bankruptcies should they occur, the same lawyer can assist you to make the correct decisions at each step of the procedure.

A Comprehensive Overview on Food Law Basics

Starting a business and running it successfully is indeed an intimidating task. Every industry comes with a range of regulations, conventions which, certainly need to be dealt with tactfully. Needless to say, the food and restaurant industry is growing rapidly and with more and more players in the race, the number of stringent practices is also increasing. This is where the importance of Food Law lies.

For entrepreneurs representing the food and hospitality industry, it is crucial to have proper knowledge of the legal aspects including safety instructions, imports and exports, traceability, product withdrawals, labeling and much more. Thus, it is of foremost importance to have a food lawyer by side, if you are planning to start a food-oriented business or already have been into trade. 

Importance of Food Lawyers in the Legal System

A Food lawyer study, make rules and use the same for improving the food network serving different clients including chefs, non-profit organizations, farmers or the restaurateurs. They mostly cover a diverse range of legal aspects including contracts, zoning, constitutional, environmental, international, animal and human rights, immigration, trade and patents. Thus, they generally boast interdisciplinary thinking while using the prevailing system in numerous inventive ways. 

At Bodner Law PLLC Firm, we legally represent an expansive clientele base including agricultural producers, livestock producers, value-added manufacturers, distributors and even restaurants. Thus, we have gained rich industrial experience, legal expertise and in-depth knowledge in bringing the most appropriate legal representation to clients.

 Common Problems faced by Food Entrepreneurs and Agricultural Producers

Aspiring food entrepreneurs and farmers often start focusing on their product line instead of making the business more strong and stable. Though their products turn to be quite interesting and appealing, however, they need to build their business strong for achieving success. To be more precise, they need to lease a facility or land, draft the non-disclosure agreements, develop solid trademark and develop accounting systems and much more. Thus, the focal point is; if you are not much savvy and do not have these type of skills, then it is important for you to build a comprehensive team and set up a solid foundation for laying the foundation and roll it out properly with the guidance of a food lawyer. Unlike many other industries, the food industry players require rich working knowledge through a range of professional disciplines. 

Recent Standpoint of Food Law

Regulations and conventions related to Food Law have seen drastic changes over the recent years, which are bound to continue as well. Some of the updated legal requirements including the ones growing out of FDA’s and FSMA modifications to Nutrition Facts requisites are settling down. Nowadays, the new administration might lead to dramatic improvements with a different approach to regulation. Emergence of all new product categories related to cannabis further leads you to challenge some of the conventional regulatory and legal approaches. 

Be you are a startup restaurateur, hotelier or an agricultural producer, it is of foremost importance to have detailed knowledge about the food laws and have a legal expert by side. This, in turn, will not only help you to comply with the legal and ethical grounds of your business but, also hold an unscratched reputation in the market.

The Meaning and Necessity of Produce Law and its Usefulness for Businesses

The international and interstate trade which is concerned with the business of fresh and frozen products is generally governed by PACA law. PACA law in its full form is known as Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. This law is applicable for anybody who is related to the buying and selling or the business of fresh or frozen produces in the United States, or place between the US. This law is applicable for every person who is involved with dealings with merchant or consignee, receiver, buyer, or anyone what is related to this line of business. When we speak of fresh and frozen produce things like herbs and fresh roots, fruits and fresh vegetables are all counted in the category. This is a federal law, unlike other state law which usually deals with product trade. The set rules of the law are strict and anyone in this business has to adhere to the rules. A careful review is compulsory prior to all produce contracts getting signed under this particular law. 

It is the Produce law which provides the missing links when the dealers or the parties concerned in the business might not see eye to eye on several matters. For example, the terms and conditions dealing with the fresh or frozen produce can be already laid down but disagreements can arise when it comes to the delivery part. When there is such a situation this law supplies the automatic terms applicable in such cases which is universally acceptable and applicable to such transactions involving produce. The parties involved are immediately alerted as to the rules applicable even where the deal might be vague, and where there is not invoice or documents that can support the terms and conditions. Thus, when the situation of incongruity gets out of control between the two dealers the law acts as an argument solver to control the situation. Under the United States Code, section 499, the law is found in chapter 7, and adheres to the set rules of United States District law. There are certain parameters which one has to fulfill, to gain the license under the produce law. Not everyone is eligible for having it, or can fulfill the required parameters.

It is the USDA which issues this license and the same is provided to the US traders dealing with fresh or frozen produce. It is mandatory to possess the license if someone wants to be in legal business of produce trade which is related to the produce law. Be it an individual or an entity, It is applicable to all, within the Unites States. This law and the license, therefore, include all the producers, retailers, farmers and wholesalers, and even those farmers with separate sales companies. For any US based merchant as well, it is compulsory to have a PACA license who receives more than one ton of produce at wholesale in a particular day that was developed either in another state or in a foreign country. Any retailers who receive more than $230,000 in produce which was developed outside of their particular area or home state a PACA license is absolutely mandatory to carry on their business. PACA is applicable to even cruise liners and they should also have the license in order to do business. Farmers who sell only their own produce and do not sell produce for others need not have this license though as the same time it is advisable to have this license as it provides the protection of the PACA trust. Therefore, it is sensible to have a PACA license and any person having the license can assert for protection.