The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued supplemental information to the 2013 Food Code on Thursday. The modifications expand the duties of the Person in Charge in a food establishment. They will now include overseeing routine monitoring of food temperatures during hot and cold holding, expand and clarify the type of information that should be included when a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Plan is required by a regulatory authority, emphasize that cleaning and sanitizing agents should be provided and available for use during all hours of operation, clarify the difference between Typhoid Fever and nontyphoidal Salmonellosis with regard to illness reporting and the exclusion and restriction of ill food employees, and suggest that regulatory authorities make sure inspection staff has access to the necessary training and continuing education. The Food Code and its supplement are joint projects run by FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. The update incorporates recommendations made by regulatory officials, industry, academia, and consumers at the 2014 Biennial Meeting of the Conference for Food Protection. The Food Code provides science-based controls for reducing the risk of foodborne illness in retail and foodservice establishments and is the model for retail food regulations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. FDA encourages its state, local, tribal, and territorial partners to adopt the latest version of the FDA Food Code, including the Supplement to the 2013 Food Code.

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