C.R.S. § 25-4-1614: Home kitchens - exemption - food inspection - short title - applicability - definitions - rules.

(1) This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Colorado Cottage Foods Act". The purposes of this section are to allow for the sale and consumption of homemade foods and to encourage the expansion of agricultural sales by farmers' markets, farms, and home-based producers and accessibility of these resources to informed end consumers by:

(a) Facilitating the purchase and consumption of fresh and local agricultural products;

(b) Enhancing the agricultural economy; and

(c) Providing Colorado citizens with unimpeded access to healthy food from known sources.

(2) (a) A producer may use his or her home kitchen or a commercial, private, or public kitchen to produce foods for sale only if the producer sells the foods directly to informed end consumers.

(2) (a)

(I) A producer may use their home kitchen or a commercial, private, or public kitchen to produce nonpotentially hazardous foods for sale directly to informed end consumers. These foods include pickled fruits and vegetables, spices, teas, dehydrated produce, nuts, seeds, honey, jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butter, flour, baked goods, candies, fruit empanadas, tortillas, and other nonpotentially hazardous foods.

(II) A producer may use their home kitchen to produce and sell packaged foods that require time and temperature control for safety, including tamales, burritos, and tortas. A producer may sell one type of food product that requires time and temperature control for safety, with the ability to offer up to five variations of that one type of food product. The producer must specify the individual food products that require time and temperature control for safety and provide a list of such food products to the department or a county, district, or regional health agency upon request. A producer may change the food products that require time and temperature control for safety, as long as the producer is not selling more than five variations of one food product that requires time and temperature control for safety at any given time. The producer must package food products requiring time and temperature control in the producer's home kitchen or a commercial, private, or public kitchen.

(III) A person may sell whole eggs under this section; except that a person may not sell more than two hundred fifty dozen whole eggs per month under this section. A person selling whole eggs must meet the requirements of section 35-21-105.

(IV) The final food product shall not be cooled and reheated before being sold.

(b)

(I) A producer is permitted under this section to sell only a limited range of foods that have been produced, processed, or packaged that are nonpotentially hazardous and do not require refrigeration. These foods include pickled fruits and vegetables, spices, teas, dehydrated produce, nuts, seeds, honey, jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butter, flour, and baked goods, including candies, fruit empanadas, and tortillas, and other nonpotentially hazardous foods.

(II) A person may sell whole eggs under this section; except that a person may not sell more than two hundred fifty dozen whole eggs per month under this section. A person selling whole eggs must meet the requirements of section 35-21-105, C.R.S.

(b)

(I) A producer that sells food that requires time and temperature control for safety shall ensure that any meat or meat product used in the production of food under this section:

(A) Has been federally inspected and bears the mark of inspection; or

(B) Satisfies an exemption from inspection, such as a federal or state exemption for a poultry producer.

(II) If a food product requires time and temperature control for safety, the producer shall follow all cooking, cooling, and holding temperatures as specified in rules adopted by the department pursuant to section 25-4-1604 (1)(b) to protect food safety until the time of sale.

(III) If a producer transports a food product that requires time and temperature control for safety before final delivery to an informed end consumer, the producer shall maintain the food product at an appropriate holding temperature to protect food safety during transport, shall not transport the food product more than once, and shall not transport the food product for longer than two hours.

(IV) A producer shall not make bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods sold under this section.

(c) A producer must take a food safety course that includes basic food handling training and is comparable to, or is a course given by, the Colorado state university extension service or a state, county, or district public health agency, and must maintain a status of good standing in accordance with the course requirements, including attending any additional classes if necessary.

(c)

(I) A producer shall take a food safety course that includes basic food handling training and is comparable to, or is, a course given by the Colorado state university extension service or a state, county, or district public health agency and shall maintain a status of good standing in accordance with the course requirements, including attending additional classes if necessary.

(II) A producer that sells food products that require time and temperature control for safety shall take a food safety course that includes food handling training concerning time and temperature control and acquire and maintain proof of course completion and a status of good standing in accordance with the course requirements, including attending additional classes if necessary. The department may approve courses that provide the training specified in this subsection (2)(c)(II).

(d) The foods produced under this section must:

(I) Be delivered directly from a producer to an informed end consumer;

(II) Be sold only in Colorado; and

(III) Not involve interstate commerce.

(e) This section applies only to producers who earn net revenues of ten thousand dollars or less per calendar year from the sale of each eligible food product produced in the producer's home kitchen or a commercial, private, or public kitchen.

(e) This section applies only to producers that earn gross revenues of one hundred fifty thousand dollars or less per calendar year from the sale of food permitted under this section. The department shall annually adjust the cap for inflation. The department may round the adjusted amount upward to the nearest dollar. Inflation is measured by the annual percentage change in the United States department of labor's bureau of labor statistics consumer price index, or a successor index, for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood for all items paid for by urban consumers. A producer shall not establish, reorganize, or operate multiple entities or contractual arrangements for the purpose of circumventing this revenue cap.

(3) (a) A food product sold under this section must have an affixed label that includes at least:

(I) Identification of the product;

(II) The producer's name, the address at which the food was prepared, and the producer's current telephone number or electronic mail address;

(II) The producer's name, department-issued registration number, the county in which the food was prepared, and the producer's current telephone number or electronic mail address;

(III) The date on which the food was produced;

(IV) A complete list of ingredients; and

(IV) A complete list of ingredients;

(V) The following disclaimer: "This product was produced in a home kitchen that is not subject to state licensure or inspection and that may also process common food allergens such as tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, soy, wheat, milk, fish, and crustacean shellfish. This product is not intended for resale."

(VI) A website address provided by the department that includes contact information for consumers to report food-borne illnesses, how to verify a producer's active registration, and how to report issues regarding a producer's registration status.

(b) A food product sold under this section and not labeled in accordance with paragraph (a) of this subsection (3) is misbranded and is subject to food sampling and inspection pursuant to subsection (4) of this section.

(c) A producer operating under this section shall conspicuously display a placard, sign, or card at the point of sale with the following disclaimer: "This product was produced in a home kitchen that is not subject to state licensure or inspection. This product is not intended for resale."

(4) A food product produced pursuant to this section is subject to food sampling and inspection by the department or a county, district, or regional health agency pursuant to section 25-5-406 if it is determined that the food product is misbranded pursuant to subsection (3) of this section or if a consumer complaint has been received or if the product is suspected in an injury or food-borne illness outbreak.

(4)

(a) A food product produced pursuant to this section is subject to food sampling and inspection by the department or a county, district, or regional health agency pursuant to section 25-5-406 if it is determined that the food product is misbranded pursuant to subsection (3) of this section or if a consumer complaint has been received or if the product is suspected in an injury or food-borne illness outbreak.

(b) If a consumer complaint of food-borne illness has been received, or if a product is suspected in an injury or food-borne illness outbreak, the department or a county, district, or regional health agency may implement local response procedures, including corrective action plans, additional food sampling tests, and additional training requirements for the producer. The department or a county, district, or regional health agency may charge a producer only the direct costs incurred under this subsection (4)(b).

(c) If the department or a county, district, or regional health agency inspects a food product produced pursuant to this section and determines that the food product is misbranded or may cause an injury or food-borne illness outbreak, the department or health agency may:

(I) Impose a fine for a violation of this section, which fine must not exceed a total of one hundred dollars for the violation; and

(II) Recover from the producer the cost of the investigation or inspection, which cost must not exceed one thousand dollars.

(d) If the department or a county, district, or regional health agency determines that, on three separate occasions within twelve months, a producer has misbranded food that requires time and temperature control for safety or failed to comply with requirements related to food that requires time and temperature control for safety, the producer shall not sell foods that require time and temperature control pursuant to this section.

(5) A person who purchases a product made by a producer shall not resell the product.

(6) A person who sells foods pursuant to this act is encouraged to maintain home bakery liability insurance or other adequate liability insurance.

(7) Sections 25-4-1604 to 25-4-1613 do not apply to this section.

(7) Except as provided in subsection (2)(b)(II) of this section, sections 25-4-1604 to 25-4-1613 do not apply to this section.

(8) The department or a county, district, or regional health agency may create a voluntary electronic registry of producers if it determines that a registry would be of value to producers and consumers.

(8)

(a) A producer shall annually register with the department before selling any food under this section. The registration must indicate the types of food the producer anticipates selling under this section. The department shall issue a registration number to each producer.

(b) The department shall create and maintain an electronic registry of producers, update the registry monthly, share the registry with each county or district public health agency, and make the registry available on the department's public-facing website.

(8.5) This section does not apply to the sale of raw milk; low-acid canned food products; fermented or acidified food products that require time and temperature control for safety; food products that are alcohol beverages or that contain cannabinoids; or food products that are produced with smoking used as a preservation method and not for flavor, reduced oxygen processing, or curing.

(9) As used in this section:

(a) "Home" means a primary residence occupied by the producer producing the food under this section.

(a.5) "Homemade" means food that is prepared in a private home kitchen, or a commercial, private, or public kitchen, when the kitchen is not licensed, inspected, or regulated.

(a.7) "Informed end consumer" means a person who is the last person to purchase any product, who does not resell the product, and who has been informed that the product is not licensed, regulated, or inspected.

(b) "Nonpotentially hazardous" has the meaning set forth in section 25-4-1602 (12).

(b) "Meat or meat products" has the meaning set forth in section 35-33-103 (8).

(c) "Producer" means a person who prepares nonpotentially hazardous foods in a home kitchen or similar venue for sale directly to consumers pursuant to this section and includes that person's designated representative. A producer may only be:

(c) "Producer" means a person that prepares foods in a home kitchen or similar venue for sale directly to consumers pursuant to this section and includes that person's designated representative. A producer may only be:

(I) An individual who is a resident of Colorado; or

(II) A limited liability company formed in Colorado, consisting of two or fewer members, and of which all members are residents of Colorado.

(10) Repealed.