Identify pertinent foodservice regulations.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provides regulatory guidance to states and territories regarding foodservice establishments. Foodservice establishments include restaurants, bars, school cafeterias, nursing homes, hospitals, and child care centers. The document that FDA authored to guide foodservice regulations is called the Food Code. FDA cannot mandate adoption only the legislature in each state and territory can decide that. However, FDA actively supports and promotes the adoption of the Food Code by states and territories as the basis for their foodservice establishment regulations.

The first copy of the Food Code was released in 1993 and every other year since then a new and revised copy has been issued. In 2003, a supplement rather than a completely new version of the Food Code was released. The 2001 version of the Food Code and the 2003 supplement are both available at: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/foodcode.html

 Status of Food Code Adoption

In 2003, the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) conducted a survey of all states and territories to determine which have adopted the Food Code. AFDO reported that 43 of 56 states and territories (77%) have adopted laws patterned after the 1993, '95, '97, '99, or 2001 versions of the Food Code. Those 43 states and territories represent 76% of the US population. In two of the 43 states, Connecticut and Virginia, one of their two agencies have pre-1993 codes and both are in the rule-making process to adopt either the 1999 or 2001 editions of the Food Code. Of the remaining 14 States and Territories:

• Eight states, Guam, and the Virgin Islands are actively pursuing Food Code adoption Rulemaking. North Carolina is one of them.
• New Mexico is not pursuing rulemaking but utilizes the Food Code for guidance and interpretation.

American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands did not respond to the survey.

 North Carolina

As of May 2004, North Carolina had not adopted the Food Code. In North Carolina, foodservice establishments are inspected based on the provisions found in the NC Foodservice Rules. The rules are located at:

http://www.deh.enr.state.nc.us/ehs/Rules/t15a-18a.26.pdf

If you have questions, contact Dr. Angela Fraser, Associate Professor/Food Safety Education Specialist, Clemson University, Clemson, SC.

Clemson University is an AA/EEO employer and does not discriminate against any person or group on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status.

 AS 0708