FDA Food Code

• Definition: 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 CAN 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. Using the FDA Food Code is a choice that each jurisdiction makes for itself. 

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.

• Related Notes and Links: 

  1. 1. 1. • To access the current (and previous versions) of the code, click here