As previously reported on this blog, FDA publishes a Food Code every four years that serves as a model for retail and food service regulations nationwide. The Food Code provisions are designed to be consistent with federal food laws and regulations and may be enacted into statute, promulgated as a regulation, or adopted as an ordinance by states or local jurisdictions.

On February 12, 2018, FDA released the 2017 Food Code (9^th edition). This edition reflects input from regulatory officials, industry, academia, and consumers that participated in the 2016 meeting of the Conference for Food Protection (CFP). Some of the updates to the 2017 version include the following:

• Addition of the term “Intact Meat,” which means a cut of whole muscle(s) meat that has not undergone comminution, injection, mechanical tenderization, or reconstruction;

• Revision of the requirement for the Person in Charge (PIC) to be a Certified Food Protection Manager; and

• Harmonization of cooking time/temperature parameters for intact and non-intact meat and poultry that are in accordance with guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

FDA urges state, local, tribal, and territorial regulatory bodies to adopt the latest version of the Food Code, which the agency points out is based on the most current science available. Other advantages—such as promotion of uniform national standards for retail food safety and conservation of resource—are listed by FDA on its website.