I'd like to look into producing my own banh pho noodle instead of buying from producers like Sincere Orient brand. What are some considerations I need to take into account to bring machines in from China and/or Vietnam and set up in California? Any tip you can give is appreciated. Thanks.
There are regulation considerations, and there are operational considerations.
Regulation:
One of the most challenging issues you'll have to deal with is whether your local health department will approve the equipment you're bringing in from Asia. While each local health department works independently, most of them will probably approve only NSF-certified hardware. With rare exception, it's very unlikely that something made in China or VN has been NSF certified.
With that said, there are ways to work with your health inspector to show that even though your machine is not NFS-certified, you can eliminate all concerns by taking certain extra steps and having certain extra procedures in place. Some inspectors may be willing to work with you, others may not.
Operational:
Operational difficulties include installation, training, support and maintenance programs which may not exist at all in California.
If you can provide the specific equipment/machine you have in mind then we can start discussing the specifics.
Opening and operating a central kitchen (or commissary kitchen) is another whole different business operation with different set of requirements. Do you have some specific question about it?
