FDA Food Code

Commemorating 30-years of the Food Code

The Food Code is a model for best practices to ensure the safe handling of food in a retail setting. It has significantly reduced the risk for foodborne illness within retail establishments, thus strengthening consumer confidence in the safety of the food we eat from supermarkets and restaurants. Check back throughout the year for additional information on the 30th anniversary.    

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The U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) publishes the Food Code, a model that assists food control jurisdictions at all levels of government by providing them with a scientifically sound technical and legal basis for regulating the retail and food service segment of the industry (restaurants and grocery stores and institutions such as nursing homes). Local, state, tribal, and federal regulators use the FDA Food Code as a model to develop or update their own food safety rules and to be consistent with national food regulatory policy.

Between 1993 and 2001, the Food Code was issued in its current format, every two years. With the support of the Conference for Food Protection (CFP), FDA decided to move to a four-year interval between complete Food Code editions. During the interim period between full editions, FDA may publish a Food Code Supplement that updates, modifies, or clarifies certain provisions. The 2005 Food Code was the first full edition published on the new four-year interval, and it was followed by the Supplement to the 2005 Food Code, which was published in 2007. The 2022 Food Code is the most recent full edition published by FDA.

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Food Code by Year 

• Food Code 2022
• Food Code 2017
• Food Code 2013
• Food Code 2009
• Food Code 2005
• Food Code 2001
• Food Code 1999
• Food Code 1997

Food Code Adoptions

• Benefits Associated with Complete Adoption and Implementation of the FDA Food Code
• Adoption of the FDA Food Code by State and Territorial Agencies Responsible for the Oversight of Restaurants and Retail Food Stores
• Military, Tribal, Local and National Park Service Adoptions
• Initiatives for Food Code Implementation and Foodborne Illness Risk Factor Reduction
• State Retail and Food Service Codes and Regulations by State

Resources

• Decoding the Food Code: Information to Assist the User
• Food Code Reference System
• Benefits Associated with Complete Adoption and Implementation of the FDA Food Code
• Food Code Section 3-501.17 Ready-to-Eat, Time/Temperature Control for Safety Food, Date Marking
• List of American National Standards for Food Equipment - Fact sheet
• Intact Steak Decision-Tree for Food Establishments and Regulators

Most Popular

• Risk Assessment: Listeria monocytogenes in Retail Delicatessens
• Retail Food Risk Factor Studies
• Educational Posters for Retail Food Employees
• Educational Videos for Retail Food Employees
• Employee Health and Personal Hygiene Handbook