Colorado Just Passed A Law Called The Tamale Act And It's A Win For Home Cooks Everywhere

Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed the Tamale Act into law, making Colorado a food freedom state and allowing home cooks across the state to legally prepare and sell a wide range of homemade foods that were previously off-limits under state regulations. The law, formally known as HB26-1033 and passed with bipartisan support, expands Colorado's existing Cottage Food Act of 2012, which had allowed the sale of some shelf-stable homemade products like coffee beans and pickles but prohibited anything requiring refrigeration or containing meat and dairy. Under the new law, home sellers can now legally sell tamales, burritos, tortas, pupusas, and any other homemade foods that require temperature control, provided they complete a state-approved food safety course covering proper food handling and maintain proof of that certification. Sellers are also required not to transport their food more than once or for longer than two hours, a provision designed to maintain food safety standards throughout the selling process.

House Majority Leader Monica Duran, one of the bill's primary sponsors, said growing up she watched her abuela and mother sell homemade food to make ends meet, and called the law an entrepreneur's dream realized. Senator Robert Rodriguez said the legislation simply creates a safe and legal pathway for something that was already happening quietly in communities across the state, with families and neighbors selling prepared food to each other for generations without any formal framework to protect or support them. Arta Montoya, a Colorado woman diagnosed with kidney disease who began selling homemade goods to friends and family to supplement her income during her illness, described the law as a recognition that people can and will find a way to take care of themselves and their families. Governor Polis said some of the state's favorite restaurants began in home kitchens, and that the law removes unnecessary barriers for passionate home-based cooks to earn a living and contribute to the culinary culture that makes Colorado distinct. Colorado now joins Arizona, Wyoming, and several other Western states that have already removed similar barriers to homemade food sales.

Source:https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/tamale-act-colorado-law-homemade-food/