Health inspectors take close look at Colorado State Fair cuisine

At the Colorado State Fair, we know the food is delicious, but is it safe to eat?

Pueblo County health inspectors have been working diligently to make sure all food vendors are complying with the health code.

Pueblo County Inspectors will check up to 70 vendors a day to make sure their food is not only appetizing, but safe for people to eat. This is a remarkable number considering there are only 60-some food vendors on the Colorado State Fairgrounds.

Josh Gallegos is a health inspector with Pueblo County Department of Public Health and Environment. The state fair is one of his crew’s busiest times of the year.

“We’re going in there looking for the risk factors, from the temperature of the foods to how they handle the foods, how they store the foods, making sure they are cooking them to the right temperatures, to everything in between,” Gallegos said.

For vendors at the state fair, these inspections are nothing new. Gallegos says the food vendors on the fairground get inspected more than standard restaurants.

“Inspectors are here to keep you safe, so we are here to keep you safe,” said Allison Brown of The Cookie Stand.

Brown has been serving food at the Colorado State Fair for 40-plus years; 2019 is her first year selling buckets of cookies at a new vendor booth that resembles the Sesame Street character Cookie Monster.

For her employees, hand washing is key to staying clean.

“You want to make sure everyone is washing their hands,” said Brown. “You don’t want to be touching your face then serving food.”

“There are a lot of people that come to the Colorado state fair,” Gallegos said. “We want to make sure everyone who comes in here is safe, and they can enjoy food and know it’s being done safely.”

According to the State Fair, there are more than 40 vendors serving up eats daily, including several options new to the fair for 2019.