The FDA Food Code: A Model for Food Safety Best Practices

By: Ashley Eisenbeiser, MS, CFS, Director, Food and Product Safety Programs, Food Marketing Institute<br /> <br /> <p><img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/blog-images/state-reg-of-fda-food-code.tmb-large-350-.png?sfvrsn=39bb476e_1" data-displaymode="Thumbnail" alt="State Reg of FDA Food Code" title="State Reg of FDA Food Code" style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;" />The FDA Food Code is one of those &ldquo;go-to&rdquo; resources for many retail food safety professionals.&nbsp; The Food Code provides a foundation for many regulatory agencies across the U.S. and is a model that represents FDA&rsquo;s best advice for a uniform system of regulation in order to protect public health and ensure the safety of food at retail and foodservice operations.&nbsp; The first version of the Food Code was published in 1993 so this year marks the 25^th year of the Food Code.&nbsp; The <a href="https://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/RetailFoodProtection/FoodCode/ucm595139.htm">2017 Food Code</a>, the most recent version, was published last month and is available on the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/RetailFoodProtection/FoodCode/ucm595139.htm">FDA Retail Food Protection webpage</a> along with a <a href="https://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/RetailFoodProtection/FoodCode/ucm598469.htm">Summary of Changes made to the 2017 Food Code</a>.&nbsp; </p> <p>Although the 2017 FDA Food Code has been released, many jurisdictions are using previous Food Code versions.&nbsp; For the most part, state and local regulatory agencies have to go through lengthy legislative processes in order to adopt a newer version of the FDA Food Code.&nbsp; Often, by the time the legislative process plays out, a newer Food Code is already available.&nbsp; &nbsp;A new Food Code is published every four years and a supplement is usually published during the time between Food Code editions.&nbsp;</p> <p>According to a recent <a href="https://www.fda.gov/downloads/Food/GuidanceRegulation/RetailFoodProtection/FoodCode/UCM577858.pdf">FDA report on the Adoption of the FDA Food Code by State and Territorial Agencies</a>, &ldquo;There are 66 state agencies responsible for providing regulatory oversight of either restaurants, or retail food stores, or both.&rdquo;</p> <p><strong>Thirty-seven&nbsp;</strong>states (including DC) have a single state regulatory agency responsible for regulating restaurants and retail food stores.&nbsp; <strong>Fourteen </strong>states have multiple regulatory agencies. Of those 14 states:</p> <ul> <li><strong>One</strong>&nbsp;state (<strong>FL</strong>) has three agencies, where: <ul> <li>Two agencies are responsible for both restaurants and retail food stores.</li> <li>One agency is responsible for restaurants.</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Four</strong>&nbsp;states (<strong>CT, MS, OH, VT</strong>) have two agencies, where: <ul> <li>One agency is responsible for both restaurants and retail food stores.</li> <li>One agency is responsible for retail food stores.</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Seven</strong>&nbsp;states (<strong>GA, ME, NY, OR, TN, UT, VA</strong>) have two agencies, where: <ul> <li>One agency is responsible for restaurants.</li> <li>One agency is responsible for retail food stores.</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Two </strong>States (<strong>MN, WI</strong>) have two agencies, where: <ul> <li>Two agencies are responsible for both restaurants and retail food stores.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p>While the Food Code is not a federally mandated regulation, each state has at least one agency who has adopted the Food Code.&nbsp; However, the version that regulatory agencies have adopted widely varies &ndash; ranging from the 1995 version to the 2013 version of the Food Code.</p> <p><em>So what does this mean for food retailers?</em></p> <p>The variability and the patchwork of Food Code adoption across the U.S. creates a significant challenge for retailers to have to know and comply with the requirements of each jurisdiction in which they operate.</p> <p>FMI supports uniform adoption of the FDA Food Code. &nbsp;Successful federal, state, local and tribal partnerships for food safety allow strong scientific standards to be used in all regulatory jurisdictions.&nbsp; The benefits of adopting and implementing uniform standards have long been recognized by both industry and regulatory agencies to protect public health.&nbsp; Uniform adoption of the code leads to higher compliance, more consistent training, standardized inspections and increased sharing of information by all stakeholders.&nbsp; When it comes to food safety, operators and regulators of retail food establishments share a common goal to produce safe, quality food for consumers.&nbsp; Through the complete adoption and implementation of consistent standards, we strengthen our ability of achieving the shared goal of having a safer food supply.</p> <p>The FDA Retail Food Protection Team hosted a webinar for FMI members to learn more about what <a href="https://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/RetailFoodProtection/FoodCode/ucm598469.htm">changes and updates</a> were made to the 2017 FDA Food Code.&nbsp; A recording of this webinar is available <a href="https://www.fmi.org/events-education/webinars/member-only-webinars/view/webinar-recordings-member-only/2018/03/09/2017-fda-food-code-changes-and-updates">here</a>.</p> <p>For more information on Retail Food Safety visit <a href="http://www.fmi.org/foodsafety">www.fmi.org/foodsafety</a> or contact <a href="mailto:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.</a>.</p> <p><em><span style="font-size: 8px;">Image Source:&nbsp; FDA&rsquo;s Report on the &ldquo;Adoption of the FDA Food Code by State and Territorial Agencies Responsible for the Oversight of Restaurants and Retail Food Stores&rdquo;</span></em></p>