Getting started in the packaged food biz

It can be tough to move from the "great idea" stage to the start up commercial stage. In most places it is not legal to sell food packaged in a home kitchen, and most resellers wouldn't have truly home made food on their shelves in any case.
 
Lots of small food biz development centers have popped up to help the next would be sauce mogul. The latest is in rural Vermont. The Vermont Food Venture Center in Hardwick  has a commercial kitchen, advice, and packaging machinery that can be rented for as little as a few hours. They have already had some success stories.
 
 

The Vermont Food Venture Center is a fantastic concept!  http://vermontfoodventurecenter.org/ 
 
Unreasonably high "compliance costs" associated even with well-intended regulation are grossly anti-competitive insofar as they present a barrier to entry into an industry and are in fact "lobbied for" by those already established in industry.
 
Adam Smith said it best:
 
"People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices".

Like most industries, Contract packaging has organized itself with Groups, Associations, Magazines and other forms of circling the wagons. The question is --- WHY?
Here's what the Contract Packaging Association says is their Vision & Mission:

Vision Statement:
"To be the premiere not-for-profit trade association for the contract packaging industry."
Mission Statement:
“To serve the needs of member companies through continuing education, market knowledge and customer relationships .” 

The Contract Packaging Market is a $20 BILLION Market! Why would they not want to protect themselves!  

http://www.contractpackaging.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=1
 
http://www.packworld.com/contract-packaging-magazine
There are Tons of Contract Packagers out there that will gladly package your products for you!