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CDPHE Retail Food Establishment Rules & Regulations

The operator or the owner of the food service establishment is responsible for food safety and regulatory compliance. Sections 25-4-1604, 25-5-420, 25-1-107(1)(p), and 25-1-108(1)(c)(I), Colorado Revised Statute are the laws that deal with retail food safety in Colorado. The Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules and Regulations, effective January 1, 1999, provides the regulatory framework for the retail food establishment inspection program.

Inspection Process

Inspection Types

Inspection Frequency

Violation Types

Enforcement Actions

Restaurant Inspections

Starting A Food Business

The Summit County Environmental Health Department approves license applications to operate retail food establishments once the facilities meet all requirements of the Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules and Regulations.

Various educational materials are available to each establishment. Many of these materials are available in a number of languages.

Currently, three environmental health officials monitor more than 350 retail food establishments in Summit County. The food protection program is paid for primarily by annual retail food establishment license fees and funding from the State of Colorado.

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INSPECTION PROCESS
Each year, establishments receive unannounced inspections by an Environmental Health Officer. Regular inspections address safe food handling practices and the physical condition of the facility. Environmental Health inspectors and the establishment operators utilize these inspections as opportunities to educate retail food managers, food handlers and other individuals that work in these facilities. As the inspectors find problems, violations are recorded on the inspection form. Operators are then offered a demonstration or explanation of appropriate ways to correct the deficiencies. Specific correction dates are assigned to violations if they cannot be corrected at the time of inspection. Follow-up inspections are conducted for specific critical issues that cannot be corrected at the time of inspection. Follow-up inspections may also be conducted for any other item at the discretion of the inspector.

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INSPECTION TYPES
Regular Inspection: This is a scheduled inspection, unannounced to the retail food establishment. An inspector conducts a complete inspection covering all items on the inspection form for compliance.

Follow-up Inspection: This is an inspection for the specific purpose of re-inspecting items that were not in compliance at the time of the regular or full inspection.

Complaint Inspection: This inspection is in response to a complaint filed by a consumer.

Investigation Inspection: This inspection is for the specific purpose of investigating matters that do not involve a complaint such as food recalls, communicable disease control activities, fire or flood.

Opening Inspection: This inspection is conducted for final approval and licensure of a new or remodeled facility, or for a change of ownership.

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INSPECTION FREQUENCY
Restaurant inspections are normally conducted one or two times per year, depending on the complexity of the menu and number of meals served at the restaurant. Risk of foodborne illness can increase with the number of times that a food product is handled during preparation. For example, restaurants that handle food more frequently are inspected more frequently than a convenience store that serves mostly pre-packaged foods.

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VIOLATION TYPES
Critical Violations: These are violations that may not necessarily cause, but are likely to cause foodborne illness. Examples of critical violations include poor temperature control of food, ill employees working with food, adulterated or spoiled food, cross-contamination, poor employee hygienic practices or presence of pests or other animals in a facility. These are the items on the left-hand column of the inspection report cover page (colored in red).

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Other Violations: These violations are not directly related to the cause of food-borne illness, but if uncorrected, could impede the operation of the restaurant. The likelihood of foodborne illness in these cases is very low. These violations, if left uncorrected, could lead to critical violations. Examples of other violations include a lack of facility cleanliness and maintenance or improper cleaning of equipment and utensils. These are the items on the right-hand column of the inspection report cover page (colored in blue).

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ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
Closure for imminent health hazard:
A directive is given to a retail food establishment to cease and desist using unsafe portions of the facility or the entire facility to ensure public health. Grounds for closure due to imminent public health risks may include but are not limited to:
No hot water
Contaminated food
Sewage problems
Foodborne illness outbreak
No utilities
Extreme uncleanliness
Fire
Inadequate refrigeration
Pest infestation

Civil Penalty:
State law establishes a process for the department to levy civil penalties of $250 to $1,000 for repeated violation of the law or regulations.

License Revocation or Suspension: State law allows legal action to be taken to suspend or revoke a retail food establishment license for violation of any statutory requirement, regulation or any term, condition or provision of licensure. Also, up to three civil penalty assessments in a calendar year is grounds for initiation of license suspension or revocation proceedings.

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STARTING A FOOD BUSINESS
Before constructing, enlarging or converting any building for use as a retail food establishment, one set of detailed plans and specifications must be submitted to the Summit County Environmental Health Department for review and approval. These plans and specification shall include:

• Proposed menu, including a list of foods, which will require cooling after cooking and the method that will be used to cool these foods,
• Complete facility floor plan, drawn to scale, and equipment elevations (if possible),
• Complete mechanical, plumbing and electrical schedules, drawn to scale,
• Complete interior finish schedule,
• Specification sheets of all food service equipment, including make and model numbers,
• Shop drawings of all custom fabricated equipment and cabinetry, drawn to scale,
• Detailed information on the source of water supply and type of sewage disposal,
• Location of chemical and personal belongings storage,
• Water heater specifications, including make and model number,
• Site plan showing the location of the business in the building, location of the building on site including alleys, streets and the location of any outside facilities (dumpsters, walk-in units, grease interceptors, etc)
• A completed Plan Review Form which can be obtained from the Environmental Health Department (or click here to download pdf file)

Together with the above items, the plan review application fee in the amount of $100.00 shall be submitted. Checks are to be made payable to Summit County Environmental Health. PLANS WILL NOT BE REVIEWED UNTIL ALL OF THE ABOVE ITEMS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED. The application fee does not include plan review activities; for example, review of the written plans, conferences, resulting correspondence, construction site visits, pre-opening inspections or final inspections. The balance due for plan review activities (not to exceed $580.00) and the Retail Food Establishment License Fee (based on the type of establishment and number of seats or square footage) will be due at the time approval to open is granted by this department.

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