I’ve previously mentioned that, as a board member of both Western Colorado Congress and Western Colorado Congress of Mesa County, I’ve been working on the issue of promoting local foods, and making it easier for farmers to make a living.
A bill has been introduced in the legislature to do just that. Senator Gail Schwartz, in the Senate, and Representative Don Coram, in the House, have introduced the Cottage Foods Act. A similar bill was introduced last year, but never came up for a vote.
What this bill does is reduce regulations for small family farmers and home based businesses that make jellies, jams, cakes and cookies and sell them locally at places like Farmer’s Markets or food stands. Authors of the bill believe that it will promote agritourism in Colorado communities, thus creating jobs. It should also provide better access to fresh healthy food in places like Grand Junction, where we have many orchards and farms capable of delivering product into our local markets.
Clearly some concerns with the 2011 bill have been addressed in the 2012 bill. It specifically exempts food kitchens from any liability from serving food produced in this lower regulation environment. It also exempts schools from any liability if the food is prepared in the schools’ kitchens.
For foods sold directly to the consumer, the Act limits the reduced regulations to foods that do not require refrigeration, such as nuts, honey, seeds, jams, jellies, spices, teas, dehydrated foods (think sun dried tomatoes!), candies and baked goods. However, these producers must be certified in the safe handling of food. Certification is to come from an entity like the USDA or the Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Service. The pool of producers is further limited to vendors with annual net sales of $2,500 or less.
The Act goes on to describe the label requirements on each food item, which includes contact information for the producer. Finally the Act describes how eggs could be sold under this Act.
Please contact your representatives and ask them to support this bill. While you are at it, how about sending a note to the two sponsors, and thank them for their work to make it easier to eat foods that are produced locally.
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