2022 FDA Food Code Update

 The FDA Food Code is updated every four years and sets forth the top recommendation for a guidelines for state and local jurisdictions, foodservice operations and retailers with food safety rules aimed at preventing foodborne illness and setting food safety standards.  

The FDA Food Code in its current version has been in existence for 30 years as of the 2022 edition. Although it is a model code that is not required, it has been widely adopted by state, local, tribal, and territorial agencies that oversee more than one million restaurants, retail food stores, vending operations, and food service operations in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and childcare centers. It represents the FDA's best advice for a uniform system of provisions that address the safety and protection of food offered at retail and in food service. 

This new information is a part of the Biden-Harris Administration's National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health and expressly includes food donations for the first time in the 2022 Food Code. The National Strategy, which was unveiled in September at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, lays out a plan of action for the federal government's efforts to eradicate hunger and cut down on diseases linked to diet by 2030—all while eradicating inequities. 

In the United States, one-third of all food is wasted. The 2022 Food Code has made it clear that food that is stored, prepared, packaged, displayed, and labeled in accordance with Food Code safety provisions can be donated. This will help prevent food loss and waste throughout the food supply chain and help ensure that safe, high-quality food reaches those who need it the most. 

View a full list of the Summary of Changes.