Food regulations & related matters
- In order to sell any type of food product in Colorado, it must be produced in a licensed facility. Licensing is generally done under state regulations as interpreted and enforced by county health departments.
- There is one exception to this - the 2012 Cottage Food Act. You can find information about this here. You can download the full Cottage Food Act by clicking this link.
- To begin exploring the licensing process, learn about the licensing requirements and procedures in the county where your facility is (or will be) located).
business operating in a facility. So if you arrange to share kitchen time with someone already running a business, you will need to go through the licensing process yourself, for your business, in the facility in which you will operate.
- You can find lots more information about licensing and regulatory matter at the excellent web site Colorado Farm to Market
These days, Food Trucks have become very popular. Here is a web site put together by an attorney which has lots of information about food trucks and related matters. Good info for others too - Check it out!
How to Start a Food Truck Business in Colorado
Here are some documents you should review if you are planning to start a food business:
- Retail food operations (selling directly to the public) are covered under the COLORADO RETAIL FOOD ESTABLISHMENT RULES AND REGULATIONS (this is a 1.5 MB PDF file, 168 pages - so it may take a while to download).
- Wholesale Manufacturing is covered under COLORADO WHOLESALE FOOD REGULATIONS
- State regulations governing DAIRY OPERATIONS can be found here.
- The USDA Food Labeling Guide (requirements document) can be found here .
