As used in this part 16, unless the context otherwise
requires:
(1) Automated food merchandising enterprise means the collective activity
of the supplying or preparing of food or drink for automated food merchandising
machines.
(1.5) Caterer means a retail food establishment that:
(a) Only provides food or beverages prepared in bulk at one location for
service in individual portions or buffets that are not available for individual
purchase at another location; or
(b) Provides food or beverage preparation or service on public or private
premises not under the ownership or control of the caterer.
(2) Certificate of license means a grant to operate a retail food
establishment without a fee, under the conditions set forth in section 25-4-1607 (9).
(2.5) County or district public health agency means a county or district
health department or a county or municipal board of health.
(2.7) [ Editor's note: Subsection (2.7) is effective January 1, 2026. ] Denver
retail food license has the meaning set forth in section 29-11.6-102 (1).
(3) Department means the department of public health and environment
and its authorized employees.
(4) Food means any raw, cooked, or processed edible substance, ice,
beverage, or ingredient used or intended for use or for sale in whole or in part for
human consumption.
(5) Fund means the food protection cash fund created in section 25-4-1608.
(5.5) Grocery store means a retail food establishment that only offers
prepackaged, commercially prepared food and beverages, including those that are
required to be refrigerated or frozen and are time or temperature controlled for
safety for retail sale to consumers, for off-premises consumption.
(5.7) Grocery store with deli means a retail food establishment that:
(a) Offers prepackaged, commercially prepared food for off-premises
consumption; and
(b) Prepares or serves food in individual portions for immediate on-premises
or off-premises consumption.
(6) HACCP plan means a written document setting forth the formal
procedures for following hazard analysis critical control point principles.
(6.5) (a) Imminent health hazard means a significant threat or danger to
health that is considered to exist when there is evidence sufficient to show that a
product, practice, circumstance, or event creates a situation that requires
immediate correction or cessation of operation to prevent injury or illness based on
the number of potential injuries or illnesses and the nature, severity, and duration of
the anticipated injury or illness.
(b) Imminent health hazard includes an emergency such as a fire, flood,
extended interruption of electrical or water service, sewage backup, misuse of
poisonous or toxic materials, onset of an apparent food-borne illness outbreak,
grossly unsanitary occurrence or condition, or other circumstance that may
endanger public health.
(7) Inspection means an inspection of a retail food establishment
conducted by the department or a county or district board of health to ensure
compliance by such establishment with rules promulgated by the department
pursuant to this part 16.
(8) License means a grant to a licensee to operate a retail food
establishment.
(9) Licensee means a person that is licensed or who holds a certificate of
license pursuant to this part 16 and is responsible for the lawful operation of a retail
food establishment.
(9.5) Limited food service establishment means a retail food establishment
that offers limited service, including:
(a) Preparing or serving food that does not require time or temperature
control for safety;
(b) Providing self-service beverages;
(c) Offering prepackaged, commercially prepared food and beverages that
require time or temperature control for safety; or
(d) Reheating commercially prepared foods that require time or temperature
control for safety.
(10) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2009, (SB 09-223), ch. 255, p. 1151, � 2,
effective May 15, 2009.)
(10.5) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (10.5) is effective until
January 1, 2026. ] Mobile food establishment means a retail food establishment
that:
(a) Is operated from a movable, motor-driven or propelled vehicle, portable
structure, or watercraft;
(b) Can change location; and
(c) Is intended to physically report to and operate from a commissary for
servicing, restocking, and maintenance.
(10.5) [ Editor's note: This version of subsection (10.5) is effective January 1,
2026. ] Mobile food establishment has the meaning set forth in section 29-11.6-102 (6).
(11) Modified atmosphere packaging means the reduction of the amount of
oxygen in a package by mechanically evacuating the oxygen, displacing the oxygen
with another gas or combination of gases, or otherwise controlling the oxygen
content to a level below that normally found in the surrounding atmosphere, which
is twenty-one percent oxygen.
(12) Nonpotentially hazardous means any food or beverage that, when
stored under normal conditions without refrigeration, will not support the rapid and
progressive growth of microorganisms that cause food infections or food
intoxications.
(13) Person means a natural person, partnership, association, company,
corporation, or organization or a manager, agent, servant, officer, or employee of
any of such entities.
(13.5) Restaurant means a retail food establishment that prepares and
serves food in individual portions or buffets for immediate on-premises or off-premises consumption.
(14) Retail food establishment means a retail operation that stores,
prepares, or packages food for human consumption or serves or otherwise provides
food for human consumption to consumers directly or indirectly through a delivery
service, whether such food is consumed on or off the premises or whether there is a
charge for such food. Retail food establishment does not mean:
(a) Any private home;
(b) Private boarding houses;
(c) Hospital and health facility patient feeding operations licensed by the
department;
(d) Child care centers and other child care facilities licensed by the
department of human services;
(e) Hunting camps and other outdoor recreation locations where food is
prepared in the field rather than at a fixed base of operation;
(f) Food or beverage wholesale manufacturing, processing, or packaging
plants, or portions thereof, that are subject to regulatory controls under state or
federal laws or regulations;
(g) Motor vehicles used only for the transport of food;
(h) Establishments preparing and serving only hot coffee, hot tea, instant hot
beverages, and nonpotentially hazardous doughnuts or pastries obtained from
sources complying with all laws related to food and food labeling;
(i) Establishments that handle only nonpotentially hazardous prepackaged
food and operations serving only commercially prepared, prepackaged foods
requiring no preparation other than the heating of food within its original container
or package;
(j) Farmers' markets and roadside markets that offer only uncut fresh fruit
and vegetables for sale;
(k) Automated food merchandising enterprises that supply only
prepackaged nonpotentially hazardous food or drink or food or drink in bottles,
cans, or cartons only, and operations that dispense only chewing gum or salted nuts
in their natural protective covering;
(l) The donation, preparation, sale, or service of food by a nonprofit or
charitable organization in conjunction with an event or celebration if such donation,
preparation, sale, or service of food:
(I) Does not exceed the duration of the event or celebration or a maximum of
fifty-two days within a calendar year; and
(II) Takes place in the county in which such nonprofit or charitable
organization resides or is principally located;
(m) A home, commercial, private, or public kitchen in which a person
produces food products sold directly to consumers pursuant to the Colorado
Cottage Foods Act, section 25-4-1614.
(15) Safe food means food that does not contain any poisonous,
deleterious, or disease-causing substance or microorganisms that may render such
food injurious to human health.
(16) Special event means an organized event or celebration at which retail
food establishments prepare, serve, or otherwise provide food for human
consumption.
(17) Uniform statewide administration, implementation, interpretation, and
enforcement means the application of the rules adopted by the state board of
health and the policy guidance of the department by state and county or district
public health agencies responsible for implementation of the rules and policies. The
uniform application shall not preclude county or district public health agencies
from implementing administrative efficiencies or practices if the practices do not
conflict with the state board of health rules or department policies.