Whether you operate a food business making consumer packaged goods (CPG), need a restaurant commissary or are building the next hot subscription meal delivery service, having access to a quality commercial kitchen is integral to your success. Your kitchen must not only have ample space and infrastructure, but it also has to comply with all relevant local, state and federal requirements for food production spaces. Familiarizing yourself with applicable requirements can be somewhat challenging because of the various overlapping and complicated regulators you have to deal with.

To help remedy this issue, we have outlined the commercial kitchen requirements for food makers in Illinois. The Prairie State, and Chicago in particular, have long been a hotbed for food innovation and quality cuisine. That’s why it is the perfect place to expand your established food-related business venture. In this blow, we will provide a detailed overview of relevant commercial kitchen requirements and show how you can access a high-quality prep space.

Notable Commercial Kitchen Requirements in Illinois

To prepare food safely and legally with the proper certifications and permits, you will need to comply with:

Local Health Department Standards

Local health departments are responsible for conducting inspections of food establishments. The City of Chicago Department of Public Health performs these inspections at regular intervals to confirm that the facilities they comply with local, state and federal guidelines. 

Additionally, Illinois requires specific plumbing and HVAC infrastructure along with special easy-to-clean finishes on floors and walls in all commercial kitchens to facilitate safe food prep and handling. 

If a facility lacks these amenities, health inspectors can require businesses to shut down operations until they bring everything up to code. This downtime can be costly, especially if the shutdown is accompanied by fines for non-compliance.

Food Handling Requirements

While there are many different food safety-related requirements for the operation of commercial kitchens in Illinois, many of these regulations are focused on food handling and storage. Illinois health departments require food makers to keep food safe throughout the storage and preparation process. Specifically, they must take steps to avoid exposure to contaminants, germs, rodents and insects.

On top of the local community’s health department’s role in setting food safety and handling standards, the Illinois Department of Agriculture also makes and enforces its own set of requirements. That is why food service and food prep businesses must consider other State and Federal agencies and rules in conducting their own review of all relevant requirements to ensure compliance. 

Another regulatory organization that consumer packaged food makers should be familiar with is the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The USDA enforces a multitude of different requirements that are meant to optimize food safety and protect consumers relating to the preparation and sale of foods with mean included as an ingredient. The food handling requirements are often designated and researched for food safety by the food maker themselves in their mandatory HACCP (Hazardous Analysis and Critical Control Points) plan.  A few of the additional requirements established by the USDA, Illinois DOA, and other governing bodies are outlined below.

Businesses must store food and beverages at temperatures that inhibit the development of bacterial and other food-borne contaminants and, where relevant, cook their ingredients at a heat level high enough to destroy any such contaminants. Failing to do so or failing to guard against cross-contamination could potentially cause consumers of those products to become ill. The specific time and temperature requirements will depend on the hazard levels of the ingredients and production processes utilized by the food maker.

Failure to properly observe food safety regulations and requirements, especially on a large scale, can result in serious consequences. In addition, the business might experience lasting damage to the brand, risk shut down of your business and potentially incur fines from the Illinois health department.

To maintain compliance with food handling requirements, businesses should select a production facility that has been built out with the relevant Health Department requirements kept front and center. The commercial kitchen should also have access to adequate food storage space and room for freezers and refrigerators. Choosing a space without sufficient space or production flexibility may limit a company’s ability to properly store or prepare food products.

Health department personnel will thoroughly review food storage and preparation practices during inspections. They can be expected to check the temperature of freezers and refrigeration units, examine packaging on high-risk food products (i.e., poultry and dairy) and monitor cooking practices.  They will also review your labeling to be sure it includes all mandatory items.

Safety Standards

Working in a commercial kitchen can present food safety risks if the proper protections, safety protocols and equipment are not in place. Therefore, adherence to food safety standards is a major component of Illinois commercial kitchen requirements. 

Businesses operating a commercial kitchen must provide staff with adequate hand washing facilities and install signage encouraging good personal hygiene habits. They must also have fire suppression systems in place in the case of a fire generated by the heat from cooking.

Another component of commercial kitchen requirements in Illinois concerns sanitizing work environments. Staff must routinely sanitize and sterilize utensils, food prep surfaces, cookware and other equipment with hot water and approved cleaners that are safe for use around food products. The production itself must be kept in clean and sanitary condition at all times.

Workers must wear hair coverings and other safety equipment while working around food. Illinois also requires managerial staff to receive training on proper hygiene, sanitation and food safety.

Commercial kitchens in Illinois must also comply with federal guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. Fortunately, many of the state, national and local guidelines overlap. However, business owners should familiarize themselves with each set of guidelines to ensure that their commercial spaces comply with all pertinent regulations.

Permitting Requirements 

Make sure that you obtain the appropriate permits and certifications from the City of Chicago Department of Public Health as well as the Illinois Department of Public Health. You may be required to apply for multiple permits, depending on the scope of your activities, the nature of your products and the ways in which those products reach your ultimate customers. 

Some of the most common certifications and permits available in Illinois include the following:

Shared Kitchen User License

If you’re exploring shared kitchen options, you’ll need to ensure that your company possesses a valid shared kitchen user license. As a shared kitchen user, you must provide the City of Chicago with a copy of your food service sanitation certificate.  The City also requires that you provide a Letter of Intent that summarizes your Lease terms.

Food Service Sanitation Certificate

In Illinois, all food establishments must have a “Person in Charge” (PIC) on-site at all times. The PIC must hold a food service sanitation certificate. The certificate holder should be the one to oversee food preparation to protect consumers from foodborne illnesses. 

Kitchen managers and others overseeing the preparation, storage, and packing or serving of food must possess the appropriate food handling certification. A Certified Food Protection Manager certificate is often required by the relevant Health Department authorities, including the City of Chicago. You and all of your other production staff will need to have taken a relevant class and received a passing grade on the relevant exam to get a Food Protection Manager or Food Handler Card.

Retail Food Establishment License

In Illinois, any business that prepares, serves, or sells perishable food items directly to the public must have a retail food establishment license. This includes caterers, restaurants, cafes, cafeterias, meat markets and more. 

Wholesale Food License  

Your company will need a wholesale food license if you prepare, manufacture, can, bake, bottle, distribute or conduct any other transactional business involving wholesale food items. Items produced for wholesale refers to products that are sold through other channels (stores, restaurants, and other venues) rather than direct to consumer.  For those producers in the wholesale channel, the Illinois Department of Public Health requires that you obtain approval and permits from the State as well as your regular local permitting.

Need a Shared Kitchen in Chicago, Illinois? Amped Kitchens Can Help

Unlike a traditional shared kitchen in Chicago, every space provided by Amped Kitchens is exclusive to a single tenant and situated within a gold-standard production facility supported by key shared amenities. You will have your very own flexible workspace equipped with vital infrastructure that you can conform to your specialized production requirements. The efficiency of these individual spaces is multiplied by best-in-class amenities from ample on-site storage (dry, cooled and frozen), multiple loading docs,  packaging areas, dish rooms and office space. You will also have the support of the experienced, on-site staff at Amped Kitchens.

All of our spaces comply with the latest commercial kitchen requirements in Illinois, which means that they are move-in ready as soon as you sign your rental agreement and obtain the relevant City and State permits relating to the specifics of your production. Our standard lease agreement is for a one-year lease, but we also offer extended rental periods for clients who want longer-term stability.

Amped Kitchens will help you navigate one of the biggest hurdles associated with setting up your own commercial kitchen space: cost. The build-out of a space with the basic infrastructure necessary to make your commercial kitchen space compliant can cost a small fortune. Not to mention all the time it would take you to find, design and build out your own stand-alone production space.

We invite you to schedule a tour of our commercial kitchen spaces in Chicago, Illinois to learn about how you can potentially save hundreds of thousands of dollars and many many months on your build-out. Once you see our facilities in person, you will know that Amped Kitchens delivers some of the best spaces to continue building your food brand.