FOOD

Homemade food vendors take advantage of relaxed Colorado laws

Jacob Laxen
The Coloradoan
Mykel Brawley, owner of the Fort Collins Pickle Company, prepares brine on the stovetop in her home kitchen on Thursday, August 10, 2017.

With 1980s-era pop music playing in the background, Mykel Brawley pickles cucumbers in her home kitchen the way her grandmother and mother taught her.

The Fort Collins native recently turned her lifelong hobby into a side business — Fort Collins Pickle Co. launched in December selling bread and butter, habanero dill and garlic dill pickles at local farmers markets.

While most food items sold in Colorado must be prepared in an inspected commercial kitchen, Brawley pickles out of her south Fort Collins home kitchen under the Colorado Cottage Food Act. The law permits food businesses to sell certain items prepared outside of commercial kitchens and without the approval of county health inspectors.

“I couldn’t imagine starting without (the Cottage Food Act),” said Brawley, who previously was a social worker. “I couldn’t have launched as smoothly. It allows you to grow organically.”

Mykel Brawley, owner of the Fort Collins Pickle Company, slices freshly scrubbed cucumbers as she begins the pickling process in her home kitchen on Thursday, August 10, 2017.

The Colorado Cottage Food Act was enacted in March 2012. The bill was amended in 2013, 2015 and 2016 — with Brawley’s home pickling business allowed under last year’s changes.

Because cottage food vendors don't get licenses and aren't inspected, it's hard to know how many operate under the act locally.

Most baked goods, tortillas, spices, teas, dehydrated produce, nuts, seeds, honey, jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butter, flours and other foods considered nonhazardous can be sold out of home kitchens under the Cottage Food Act. Whole chicken, quail, duck and turkey eggs can also be sold without inspection.

Other items that must be refrigerated — salsas, barbecue sauces, cheeses, cream pies and pastries stuffed with cream cheese or custard — aren’t considered cottage foods and must be prepared in commercial kitchens. So must products containing any meat, including jerky.

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Other states have similar homemade food laws. Christie Rich now runs her 17-year-old sourdough home bakery called The Bread Chic out of Fort Collins after previously taking advantage of cottage laws when living in Wyoming and North Dakota.

But not everyone thinks the deregulation of selling homemade foods is a good thing. Many critics are especially concerned about potential contamination from pets.

Mykel Brawley, owner of the Fort Collins Pickle Company, pours brine into a jar of sliced cucumbers and spice mix in her home kitchen on Thursday, August 10, 2017.

Shannon Campbell runs Styria Bakery out of a Denver commissary kitchen that costs her more than $6,000 per month in rent. She sells bread, which would be Cottage Food Act-eligible, but also some items that don't fall under the act, including cheese breads.

“Cottage producers take a bite out of my sales and a bite out of my profits everyday," Campbell said. "I think if they want to make and sell a food product, they should have to rent a building or rent hourly in a commissary, just like we do. Most importantly, they should be inspected."

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While there are no routine health code inspections for Colorado cottage food producers, each operation must complete a food safety course before they are able to sell homemade foods. Online and in-person classes are offered.

The courses cover best practices and also offer a science lesson on microorganisms. They are updated anytime the act is amended. Previous class participants are updated of changes via email. 

“Even though they are low-risk foods, any food is at risk of contamination,” said Marisa Bunning of the Colorado State University extension office in Fort Collins that oversees the food safety curriculum.

“We really try to encourage cottage food producers to think of their home kitchen as a different environment than when they are cooking a regular dinner," she added.

A trio of old co-workers launched a Northern Colorado fruit and pepper jam cottage food company called Spicy Jamz earlier this year. The group sets up an assembly line to prepare the four different flavors. 

"We dedicate specific time in the kitchen is just for this," said Spicy Jamz co-founder Katie Diel. "During that time we keep the kitchen to just us."

Jars filled with sliced cucumbers, spice mix, dill and garlic sit on a countertop in Mykel Brawley's home kitchen as she begins the pickling process on Thursday, August 10, 2017.

While cottage food producers don't go through health code inspections, they are restricted in other ways.

They can only sell directly to consumers and are prohibited from supplying restaurants or grocery stores. All Colorado cottage food sales must occur in the state.

There are strict labeling requirements for cottage food vendors including a mandatory disclaimer stating the items were produced in a home kitchen without regulatory oversight.

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Egg sales are capped at 250 dozen per month. Net sales for each product are capped at $10,000 annually.

Most farmers markets require cottage food vendors to obtain liability insurance, which costs about $225 to $450 per year.

Still, startup costs are minimal compared to food companies needing commercial kitchens.

“With no experience in food at all, cottage foods was a great way to test the waters and see if there’s a market,” said Alec Larbig of Biglar Bagels. “You don’t need a huge investment to get started.”

Mykel Brawley, owner of the Fort Collins Pickle Company, cleans a jar of sliced cucumbers and spice mix in her home kitchen on Thursday, August 10, 2017.

Larbig started the bakery last year out of his Fort Collins apartment kitchen under the Cottage Food Act. The operation has since graduated to a commissary kitchen, and Biglar now supplies Downtown Artery.

Brawley is on a similar trajectory. She’s already on the lookout for commissary space for Fort Collins Pickle Co. to soon expand the sales reach.

“Cottage food is a great way to get started,” Brawley said. “Then to grow, you take it commercial from there.”

Follow Jacob Laxen on Twitter and Instagram @jacoblaxen.

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Local cottage food vendors

Though it's hard to track exactly how many vendors operate under the Cottage Food Act locally, here are a handful of local vendors that do: 

Angela's Cookies & Cakes: Baked goods

The Bread Chic: Artisan sourdough breads

By Eric: Homemade jams, jellies, cookies, granola, toffee and fudge.

Fort Collins Pickle Co.: Bread and butter, habanero dill and garlic dill pickles

Homemade Brazilian Sweet Rolls: Lemon zest, orange zest and shredded coconut sweet rolls

Just Plain Ola: Grain-free granola sweetened with maple syrup

Red Dog Expressions & Lavender Farm: Honey

Spicy Jamz: Strawberry Habanero, Peach Habanero, Pineapple Habanero and Raspberry Habanero fruit pepper jams

SunRay Natural Farm: Herbs, spices, tea blends and organic eggs

Taste of Summer: Jams and jellies

Usery Acres: Eggs