Value-added agricultural products are raw commodities whose value has been increased through the addition of ingredients or processes that make them more attractive to the buyer and/or more readily usable by the consumer.

Simple examples would be producing a high fiber breakfast cereal from wheat, or adding a marinade to a cooked beef steak and selling it in a microwaveable package.  The process would thus create new jobs and keep more dollars in a community.  In addition, the profit margin of a value-added product is generally higher than that of a raw commodity.

It is more than just the perfect recipe.  Planning for the future, hard work and a lot of patience also are involved.  If entrepreneurs do not realize this when they start a business, it could become a cause for failure.

The Kansas Value Added Foods Lab can help you develop your product safely and under current regulations so you can start, or add to, your business.  Let us help!

Science of sustenance: Foods laboratory helps Kansas companies proper

The nation's breadbasket is home to some of the major food-related companies, and this presence can be overwhelming to a small food producer looking to enter the market. But a Kansas State University laboratory offers Kansas companies the resources to be successful — and at an especially low cost.

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The Spring 2012 issue of The Scoop is now available.  Take a look at...

The Scoop

The New FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law by President Obama on January 4th, 2011. It aims to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus of federal regulators from responding to contamination to preventing it.