San Diego Food Safety Consultant
HACCP, Preventive Controls, and SQF programs for San Diego's craft beverage makers, food innovators, and manufacturers.
San Diego builds flavor for a living, from the taprooms and canning lines of America's craft beer capital to the food-tech labs turning new ingredients into products, plus the bakeries, specialty producers, and North County growers around them. That inventiveness runs straight into one of the country's most demanding food regulators. We do the hands-on work of building or upgrading your food safety plans, prerequisite programs, and traceability, then rehearse the audit so nothing surprises you. We build it with your team, not as a course you finish on your own.
A capital of craft, a lab for what's next, and a strict state to answer to
San Diego's food economy leans on invention. It is the craft beer capital of America, home to more independent breweries than any other county, and that culture has spilled into hard seltzer, kombucha, cold brew, and ready-to-drink cocktails. Alongside it, the region's deep life-science base has produced a wave of food innovators working on cultured seafood, plant-based products, and precision fermentation. Add the bakeries, specialty makers, and avocado and citrus growers of North County, and you have a market full of new products and new processes, all of which have to satisfy California's rigorous food safety rules. That is exactly the intersection we work in.
A great beer is a food safety system with a head on it
Brewing looks like craft and runs like manufacturing. The moment a brewery packages into cans or bottles, adds a kitchen, brews kombucha or hard seltzer, or sells wholesale into retail, the food safety expectations climb fast. Distributors and grocery buyers want HACCP or a preventive controls plan, and California wants you registered and inspected. We help San Diego breweries and beverage makers put real controls behind the creativity.
- Packaging, canning, and bottling line sanitation and controls
- Preventive controls and HACCP for beverage production
- Kombucha, hard seltzer, cold brew, and RTD process controls
- Acidified and low-acid beverage considerations and filings
- Allergen control for taproom kitchens and food programs
From taproom to retail shelf
Self-distribution and taproom sales are one thing. Landing a chain grocery or national distributor account is another, and that buyer will ask for documentation your current setup may not have. We build the program that gets you approved and keeps you there. Our HACCP consulting and SQF consulting teams support beverage producers at every stage.
New ingredients and new processes need food safety built in from day one
San Diego's food innovators are creating products that did not exist a few years ago. Novel foods and new processes do not fit an off-the-shelf plan, and regulators expect the science to be sound before the product ships. We help build the food safety foundation early, when it is cheapest to get right.
NOVEL AND ALTERNATIVE FOODS
Cultured, plant-based, and fermentation-derived products
Emerging categories carry hazards and questions a conventional plan never contemplated. We help you reason through them and document the controls that stand up to scrutiny.
- Process-specific hazard analysis for new production methods
- Preventive controls and validation for novel ingredients
- Support for FDA pre-market consultation and documentation
- Scale-up controls from pilot to commercial production
SCALING STARTUPS
From R&D bench to a facility that passes audits
Growth-stage food companies often outgrow their food safety systems before they know it. We build programs that scale with you and satisfy the investors, buyers, and regulators who come with growth.
- First HACCP and food safety plans for a new facility
- California Processed Food Registration and inspection readiness
- SQF and GFSI preparation for retail and investor requirements
- Co-manufacturer selection and oversight
In California, you register with CDPH before you make a thing
California regulates food manufacturing through the CDPH Food and Drug Branch under the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, and it expects registration and inspection up front. Knowing which permit your product needs is the first move, because a beverage, a canned salsa, and a cold storage each land in a different place.
Processed Food Registration - CDPH FOOD & DRUG BRANCH
Almost anyone who manufactures, repacks, labels, or warehouses processed food in California needs a Processed Food Registration. It acts as your basic health permit to operate, renews annually, and follows an inspection for compliance with GMPs and the Health and Safety Code.
Cannery License - CDPH CANNERY PROGRAM
Acidified and low-acid canned foods that can support Clostridium botulinum, common in salsas, sauces, and some RTD beverages, must be packed under a Cannery License, with product testing, a filed process, and retort or process controls.
Seafood and juice - HACCP CDPH / FDA
Seafood and juice operations must implement HACCP under 21 CFR Parts 123 and 120. San Diego's fishing heritage and juice and beverage makers make this a live requirement for many facilities.
FDA and FSMA overlay - FDA
Interstate sales bring FDA Preventive Controls under 21 CFR Part 117 and, for covered foods, FSMA 204 traceability. Importers of produce and ingredients through the border take on Foreign Supplier Verification.
Cold storage and retail - CDPH / COUNTY HEALTH
Cold storage and refrigerated warehouses carry their own CDPH license, while retail and food service fall under the California Retail Food Code enforced by county health. Operations that both wholesale and sell direct need to satisfy each.
Right-sized programs for how San Diego makes and moves food
Craft breweries and beverage
Breweries, kombucha, cold brew, hard seltzer, and RTD makers moving from taproom into packaged retail.
Food innovators and novel foods
Cultured, plant-based, and fermentation-based companies building food safety in from the pilot stage.
Bakeries and specialty foods
Commercial and artisan bakeries and specialty producers scaling into wholesale accounts.
Produce and North County growers
Avocado, citrus, and specialty growers and packers navigating the Produce Safety Rule.
Co-manufacturers and co-packers
Facilities serving multiple brand customers, each with its own specification and audit.
Cross-border and distribution
Operations importing produce and ingredients through Otay Mesa that need FSVP and traceability.
Every standard your buyers, investors, and inspectors expect
We prepare San Diego facilities for the certifications and regulatory frameworks that retailers, distributors, and inspectors require, then keep the program running between audits.
HACCP
SQF
BRCGS
FSSC 22000
FSMA Preventive Controls
PRODUCE SAFETY RULE
GMP and cGMP
USDA
GFSI-aligned
Software that grows with a fast-moving product line
Consulting gets you certified. The platform keeps you ready. Built with expert food safety guidance and tailored to different industries, it produces the organized records that auditors, buyers, and California inspectors expect to see.
AI HACCP Builder
Pre-built templates cut HACCP plan development from hours to minutes, with expert guidance built in.
AI SOPs and Checklists
Automatically generates SOPs and checklists, flags missed tasks, and keeps protocols on track.
Batch and Inventory
Real-time tracking of production, inventory, and cost, reducing errors that create compliance gaps.
Traceability and Recall
Links ingredients to finished products for fast mock recalls and clean, defensible audits.
Supplier Compliance
Automates supplier document management and updates, cutting manual effort and adding transparency.
Live Monitoring and Alerts
Dashboards track KPIs in real time and send instant alerts on incidents so you can act quickly.
Four moves from first walkthrough to a program that passes
Assess and prioritize
We review your operation on-site or virtually, measure it against your target standard and California licensing, and hand back a prioritized plan tied to your launch or audit date.
Build the documentation
We create or refine your food safety and HACCP plans, preventive controls, SOPs and prerequisite programs, PFR and cannery filings where needed, supplier approval, and traceability.
Verify sanitation and monitoring
We design environmental monitoring and sanitation controls, from zone swabbing to line hygiene, so the program holds up under real production conditions.
Rehearse the audit
We run a mock audit or readiness review, coach your recordkeepers, and close remaining gaps with effective corrective actions before the real thing.
Co-Founder & Chief Food Safety Officer
Meet the Lead of Our Expert San Diego Food Safety Consultant Team
Driven to ensure organizational requirements meet the challenges of technology integration with sound food safety and quality planning with focus on risk mitigation and prevention. Technical expertise in audit standards, lead instructor via accredited programs, and community leader to advance local / national food ecosystems.
What food and beverage teams say about working with us
"I have been building food safety programs for companies since 2009 and this process has taken anywhere from 6 months to a year, including facilities that had USDA in place to make them comply with FSMA and GFSI. I needed Eurobake to reach compliance at a faster rate."
"The flow chart is the first page of every food safety plan and because the FoodReady flow chart is automated you can drill down into the SOPs and checklists that are attached to the FoodReady flow chart without having to create a food safety library of knowledge within your employees and management team (which can be huge binders of documents that your food safety team can spend hours paging through). Because this flow chart is automated with everything attached you will never have to do this again. Everything is within the app."
"FoodReady is very customizable, and intuitive, and seemed like a good fit for our business right from the start."
"Our recent BRC audit took place after only a few months of implementing the FoodReady Software with a new QC Team. Denice was instrumental in leading us through a smooth transition from a dated paper system and was on-site to provide guidance and support to our new QC Team during the actual audit; all factors that contributed to a successful audit and final score of AA+."
"Task Manager is phenomenal. I love being able to establish reoccurring tasks, monitor progress, and assign the checklists that need to be completed for each task. This keeps my team accountable and gives me ease of monitoring."
San Diego food safety consulting, answered
Do you work with craft breweries and beverage makers?
Yes, and it is a core part of what we do in San Diego. Once you package into cans or bottles, add a kitchen, brew kombucha or hard seltzer, or sell wholesale, buyers and California expect real food safety controls. We build packaging and sanitation controls, HACCP or preventive controls, and the documentation retail and distributor accounts require.
We are building a novel or alternative food product. Can you help?
Yes. Cultured, plant-based, and fermentation-derived products carry hazards a standard plan never contemplated. We build process-specific hazard analysis and preventive controls, support FDA pre-market consultation, and design controls that scale from pilot to commercial production.
We grow or pack avocados and produce. Does the Produce Safety Rule apply?
Often yes. Covered produce operations fall under the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, with requirements for agricultural water, worker hygiene, and sanitation. We help North County growers and packers get inspection ready and meet buyer audit expectations.
What do I need to legally make food in California?
Most manufacturers need a Processed Food Registration from the CDPH Food and Drug Branch, which acts as your permit to operate and follows an inspection. Acidified and low-acid canned foods need a Cannery License, seafood and juice need HACCP, and interstate sales bring FDA jurisdiction. We confirm which apply to you first.
Can you prepare us for SQF, BRCGS, or other GFSI audits?
Yes. We prepare facilities for SQF, BRCGS, and FSSC 22000, plus HACCP, FSMA Preventive Controls, GMP and cGMP, and USDA documentation. We run gap assessments, build documentation, run mock audits, and coach staff. We do not provide certification training.
How long does it take to become audit ready?
It depends on your current systems and the standard or license you are targeting. Some San Diego facilities are ready within weeks of the assessment, others take several months. We build a roadmap around your date and tackle the highest-impact items first.
Talk to a food safety expert about your San Diego operation
Book a free consultation with our food safety and quality team, and get a clear path to your next San Diego audit, registration, or retail launch.