Who can sell under the Colorado Cottage Foods Act
The act calls you a producer: a Colorado resident who runs the business alone or as an LLC with two or fewer owners. You, or a designated representative, sell in person to an informed end consumer, the person who will eat the food, and answer their questions.
Your own kitchen is the usual place to cook, but the law also lets you use a commercial, private or public kitchen. Ask your homeowners association and your town about home business rules before you start.
Which foods are allowed
The act covers foods that stay safe without refrigeration. CDPHE and CSU Extension list these as eligible:
- Breads, muffins, cookies, cakes
- Fruit pies and fruit empanadas
- Tortillas
- Candy, fudge, cotton candy
- Jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butters
- Honey
- Flour and dry mixes
- Spices and teas
- Roasted coffee beans
- Nuts and seeds
- Dehydrated and freeze-dried produce
- Flavored vinegar and bitters
- Pickled fruits and vegetables, pH 4.6 or below
Whole shell eggs are allowed too, up to 250 dozen a month, kept cold and sold in new, labeled cartons.
These stay off limits under the current rules:
- Foods that need refrigeration for safety
- Meat, poultry, fish and shellfish, also as an ingredient or topping
- Cream, custard or meringue fillings, buttercream and cream cheese frosting
- Pumpkin, sweet potato and cream pies
- Sauces and condiments like salsa, barbecue sauce, ketchup and salad dressing
- Canned vegetables, juices, purees and cut fresh produce
- Beverages, fresh pasta and flavored oil
- Pepper jelly and jams made with fresh peppers
- Products with CBD or THC
Where and how you can sell
Every sale goes straight from you to the end consumer, inside Colorado. Buyers may not resell what they buy from you.
| Way of selling | Allowed? |
|---|---|
| From your home | Yes, if your HOA and local zoning allow a home business |
| Farmers markets, roadside stands, CSAs | Yes |
| A storefront like a gift shop or clothing store | Yes, sold by you or your representative |
| Online orders delivered inside Colorado | Yes |
| Shipping or delivery outside Colorado | No |
| Restaurants, grocery stores, co-packers, distributors | No |
Wherever you sell, in person or on your website, show a sign that reads: "This product was produced in a home kitchen that is not subject to state licensure or inspection. This product is not intended for resale." Samples are fine if you use gloves, tongs or toothpicks instead of bare hands.
Training, registration and inspections
Every producer takes a food safety course that covers basic food handling, from CSU Extension, a public health agency or a comparable provider, and keeps it current. Keeping a copy of your certificate at your stand is a good habit.
The act exempts you from the state's food licensing rules, so there is no permit and no routine kitchen inspection. The health department can still sample and inspect your product after a complaint, a suspected illness, or a label that breaks the rules.
What the Tamale Act changes
House Bill 26-1033, the Tamale Act, rewrites the cottage food section. When its changes take effect, these are the big ones:
- One cap for the whole business: $150,000 a year in gross revenue, adjusted for Denver-area inflation, instead of $10,000 per product
- Yearly registration with CDPHE before you sell, with a public registry of producers
- One type of refrigerated (TCS) food, like tamales, burritos or tortas, in up to five variations
- Meat in those foods must carry a federal mark of inspection or qualify for an exemption
- Fines up to $100 per violation, plus inspection costs up to $1,000, for misbranded or unsafe food
Refrigerated foods come with their own rules: a food safety course on time and temperature control, the cooking, cooling and holding temperatures CDPHE sets, no cooling and reheating before sale, and transport only once for at most two hours. No bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food becomes a rule for every cottage food. Three violations with these foods within twelve months and you lose the right to sell them.
Some foods stay outside the act: raw milk, low-acid canned foods, fermented or acidified foods that need refrigeration, alcohol, foods with cannabinoids, and foods smoked for preservation, reduced oxygen packed or cured.
When you outgrow the cottage food law
Want to sell to restaurants or grocery stores, ship out of state, or earn past the cap? Then the cottage food exemption no longer covers you, and you need a licensed operation. Federal labeling applies in full at that point: ingredient list, net quantity, allergens and in most cases a Nutrition Facts panel.
Nutrition Facts Label Requirements →