Colorado State University Extension
SafeFood Rapid Response Network
SAFEFOOD NEWS - Winter/Spring 1999 - Vol 3 / No. 2
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Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules and Regulations ... What's New?
New retail food establishment rules and regulations for Colorado went into effect January 1, 1999. The new statute and regulations combined the previous separate statutes and regulations addressing food service establishments and retail food markets into one facility type-Retail Food Establishments.
The new statute has also modified the language, introduced new technology and redefined the licensing fee structure. The Retail Food Establishment Rules and Regulations have been revised to conform to the 1997 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Code.
Some of the changes include:
- Potentially hazardous foods must be maintained at 41 degrees F or below. Refrigeration equipment that cannot meet this requirement (but can be maintained at 45 degrees F or below) must be replaced within 5 years.
- Cooked potentially hazardous food must be cooled from 140 degrees F to 70 degrees F (or below) within 2 hours, and from 70 degrees F to 41 degrees F (or below) within 4 hours.
- Eggs and fish must be cooked to 145 degrees F.
- Game animals must be cooked to 155 degrees F.
- Chopped, flaked, ground, and minced meats and fish must be cooked to 155 degrees F.
- Raw animal foods cooked in the microwave must be cooked to 165 degrees F.
- Employees must be able to demonstrate a knowledge of foodborne disease prevention as it relates to the specific tasks they are performing. This includes a knowledge of handwashing, temperature requirements, sanitization requirements, and how to prevent cross-contamination.
- The employee is responsible for letting the person in charge know if he/she is infected with, or a carrier of, any communicable disease which could be transmitted by food.
- If single service gloves are worn, they should be changed and discarded after each task.
Changes also have been made in the way your health department conducts inspections: the inspection form includes 15 items (instead of 44); inspections are not scored; and inspection frequency may be based on risk assessment.
Copies of both the statute and regulations as well as fact sheets for industry and regulators are available from the Consumer Protection Division of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPH&E&E). Contact Roberta Boitano at (303) 692-3659 for additional information.
Source: Heads Up, Consumer Protection Division, CDPH&E, Summer 1998.
Updated Monday, August 29, 2011
