Chaffee County Public Health conducts regular inspections of all facilities offering 
food to consumers in Chaffee County.  Inspections are completed to ensure
restaurants and other facilities providing food to the public are taking the necessary
steps to prevent foodborne illness. Facilities preparing food must do so in approved
kitchens and are typically inspected 1 - 2 times per year.  

If you are interested in opening a food service establishment, several items are
required before beginning operation.  These items are required as part of the Plan
Review process:

• Menu
  Submitting your proposed menu allows Consumer Protection staff to identify
  areas where food safety will be most critical.   Menus are also used in
  conjunction with proposed facility equipment plans to identify if what
   equipment is needed to keep the food safe. 
• Facility Layout & Equipment
  Knowing how your facility will be designed is important, as any potential
  problems can be identified before work begins.  Consumer Protection staff
  visit hundreds of commercial kitchens each year and can help identify layouts
  that are functional while providing the best opportunity for food safety.  All
  new facilities and mobile units are required to submit a Plan Review Packet. 
• Food Safety Practices
  We request detailed information regarding how food will be stored, heated,
  reheated, cooled and handled at each facility.  Special attention is given to
  those menu items with the greatest risk, and those in which food safety is
  most critical. 

·         The Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules and Regulations require that
at least one employee with authority to direct and control food preparation and
service shall be a Certified Food Protection Manager who has shown proficiency in
required information through passing a test that is part of an accredited program.
Approved training sources can be found here. In addition, Chaffee County
recommends that all food handlers attend StateFoodSafety.com's online food safety
training. This course is about 90 minutes long and is available in English, Spanish,
Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese and American Sign Language. The course is
optional for food workers but is approved and recommended by Chaffee County
Environmental Health for food safety training.

Temporary/Special Event Facilities

Food safety at temporary and special events is critical to ensure the event is successful and can continue to be in the future. All event coordinators must submit an Event Coordinator Packet for each event and clearly identify all retail food vendors that will be at the event. All Chaffee County retail food vendors who already hold a current Colorado Retail Food Establishment License do not need to fill out the Temporary Vendor Application or pay the additional Temporary License Fee. Temporary Vendors licensed in Colorado; however not directly licensed by Chaffee County will need to fill out the Temporary Vendor Application and pay a $50 fee. Temporary Retail Food Vendors without a Colorado Retail Food License will need to fill out the Temporary Vendor Application and submit a fee of $100. The licensure process is slightly different for temporary and special event vendors, mainly due to reduced menu items, and menu items requiring few if any preparation steps. Inspections for retail food vendors will be held on the day of the event.

Event Coordinators must submit the Event Coordinator Packet below at least 14 days prior to the event: Temporary and Special event vendors must submit the Temporary Vendor License. 

For a list of mobile units in Chaffee County, click HERE

Application Forms

2022 County Retail Food Establishment Application

Temporary Vendor Application Updated March 2019

Event Coordinator Application Updated March 2019

Retail Food Establishment Resources

2022 Mobile Unit Plan Review

2022 Brick & Mortar Plan Review

Pet Variance Application

Rules and Regulations about Retail Food Establishments can be found at the
Colorado Department of Public Health website below:

Colorado Department of Public Health Consumer Protection Division 

Child Care Facilities

Chaffee County Environmental Health performs inspections of Child Care Facilities
in Chaffee County.  Child Care Facilities are typically inspected once per year by
Environmental Health in addition to inspections performed by the Colorado
Department of Human Services Division of Childcare.

Inspections performed by Environmental Health focus on the prevention of
spreading illness throughout the facility, in order to protect the health of children
and staff.

For additional information please visit the Division of Childcare Website.