DENVER | Tortillas, fruit empanadas and pickled vegetables are joining the family of homemade foods that can be sold in Colorado without being made in a commercial kitchen.
A state House committee voted 10-3 Tuesday to add those foods to Colorado’s Cottage Foods Act. That’s a 2012 law to allow home cooks to sell small amounts of foods without undergoing food safety inspections.
The Legislature is also nearing agreement on a bill to raise the amount the cooks can earn under the law, from $5,000 a year to $10,000 per eligible food item.
Lawmakers heard Tuesday from small farmers and home cooks who have been helped by the law. Lawmakers added fresh-milled flour to the bill, which awaits another committee vote before heading to the full House.