Colorado Cottage Food Law: Food Safety Training Requirements

Food that you produce from home and sell directly to people is known as cottage food.

Each state has its own cottage food law that determines the types of food you can make, to whom and how you can sell, and how much revenue you can earn from selling homemade food annually.

To start a cottage food business, many states require the completion of an approved food safety training course, among other requirements.

This article discusses the Colorado cottage food law, and whether you need food safety training to sell homemade food.

Colorado cottage food production

Colorado’s cottage food law allows its residents to make food from their home kitchen and sell directly to people within the state.

Allowed foods include:

• pickled fruits and vegetables with a finished equilibrium pH of 4.6 or below
• dry spices
• dry teas
• dehydrated produce
• nuts and seeds
• honey, jams, jellies, preserves, and fruit butter
• flour, candies, fruit empanadas, tortillas, and other similar products that do not require refrigeration
• baked goods such as muffins, fruit pies, cookies, and cakes
• roasted coffee beans
• buttercream made with ghee or vegetable oil
• canned fruits
• candies such as cotton candy and fudge
• freeze-dried produce

Colorado also allows the sale of up to 250 dozen whole eggs per month.

Examples of ineligible foods include:

• any meat product, such as bacon, jerky, chicharron, poultry, fish and shellfish products
• baked or fried goods with cream, custard, or meringue fillings or toppings
• cakes or pastries with buttercream (unless made with ghee or vegetable oil) frosting
• sauces such as barbecue, hot, pasta, pizza, or salad dressing
• beverages
• condiments such as ketchup and mustard
• pumpkin, sweet potato pie, and cream pies
• cut fresh fruits and vegetables, fruit or vegetable juices or concentrates, fruit or vegetable purees
• pepper jelly or jams made with fresh peppers or homemade dehydrated peppers

You can sell approved cottage foods directly to customers in-person at certain events or online, as long as the person to whom you’re selling lives in Colorado.

Conversely, you cannot make and sell food to retail food establishments like restaurants, grocery stores, mobile food units, or other type of licensed and inspected establishment.

Colorado allows up to $10,000 in annual revenue per food product. So, if you sell roasted coffee beans and dried tea, you cannot exceed $20,000 annually.

Do you need food safety training to sell homemade food in Colorado?

Before you can start a cottage food business in Colorado, you must complete an approved food safety course.

FoodSafePal’s food handler training is an approved option since it’s ANSI-National Accreditation Board (ANAB) accredited.

The course is online and takes around 90 minutes to learn and test.

After you complete the course and pass the test, you earn a food handlers certificate. Once you pass, you can immediately download or print your certificate and card, or upgrade to receive a professionally printed copy by mail.

Colorado recommends that you display a copy of this certificate to your customers, such as at the point of sale or on your website.

You must maintain the certificate by retaking an approved food safety course like FoodSafePal’s every three years.

FoodSafePal’s Food Handler course was designed for food workers in commercial food establishments like restaurants so some of the content isn’t applicable to cottage food business owners.

However, the course still covers the essential food safety topics you must know to keep your products free of bacteria and other foodborne pathogens or hazards that could make someone sick.

As an alternative to FoodSafePal’s approved food handler course, you can take a food safety training course specifically designed for cottage food producers through the Colorado State University Extension.

However, the cost for this course is $50 and it takes 3.5 hours to complete compared with FoodSafePal’s cost of $15 and 90-minute completion time.

But, if you prefer more specialized cottage food training, these differences in price and time may be worth it.

Label requirements

Colorado’s cottage food law requires each food product you sell have a label.

This label must include:

• your business name
• product name
• physical production address
• your email or phone number
• production date
• complete list of ingredients, in descending order by weight
• “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.”

You must also make sure that your food is packaged in food-grade material to prevent contamination.

The bottom line

Under the Colorado cottage food law, you can produce and sell foods that don’t require time or temperature controls, like baked or other dry goods, directly to people throughout the state.

If you want to start a cottage food business in Colorado, you must first complete an ANAB-accredited food handler training course, such as FoodSafePal’s.

Alternatively, you can enroll in Colorado State University Extension’s cottage food training course for more specialized training but at a higher cost and time commitment.

In either case, you will receive a certificate after successfully completing the course of your choice that you should display at the point of sale.

Don’t forget that each food product you sell must be properly packaged and contain a label with the required information.