The FDA has finally released the new 2009 Food Code. An updated version of the Code is published every 4 years with supplements being published every two years as needed. The 2009 Food Code has a number of significant changes. This is to be expected with the Food Code being an integral part of President Obama’s overall food safety initiative.
The new Food Code establishes 5 key controls to protect the public health:
1. the need to demonstrate knowledge of food safety control measures
2. controlling the impact of the employee’s health on food safety
3. controlling hands as a vehicle of contamination
4. the use of time and temperature to control pathogens
5. the use of an effective consumer advisory to dispense information and concerns.
With key inputs from the Food Safety Working group, Healthy People 2010, and the Conference for Food Protection (CFP), the new Food Code puts much more emphasis on personal and facility sanitation, and on risked based assessments. There is also increased dialogue concerning active managerial control (AMC) and implementing HACCP principles. Both of these will play key roles in the industry as legislation makes its way through Congress concerning food safety controls and verification in our manufacturing and distribution sectors.
Some of the key changes in the new Food Code include:
- Replacement of “Critical” and “Non-Critical” designations with “Priority Item”, “Priority Foundation Item” and “Core Item”. With risk-based assessments being used more often in jurisdictions across the country, this will help the regulatory community and industry focus their food safety interventions and evaluations. It also intends to place the focus on the importance of all aspects of food safety and releases us from the nebulous qualities of “non-critical”.
- Cut leafy greens are now part of the time and temperature controlled foods. With the increasing quantity of foodborne illness outbreaks connected with leafy greens, the FDA now states that the greens should be kept at 41°F or lower to control E. coli 0157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella.
- The FDA has increased the amount of knowledge expected of all food handlers concerning food allergens and their impact on the retail and food service consumer.
- Undercooked hamburgers and other ground meats are no longer an option for items on a children’s menu even as a consumer request.
- An added definition for “non-continuous” cooking explains that it is any cooking of food in which the initial heating of the food is intentionally halted, the food cooled, and then re-thermalized later to complete the cooking.
- Handwashing instructions and the use of bare-hand contact appear in more areas of the document than ever before and the overall emphasis on cleaning and sanitation has increased including several new requirements.
The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) has already begun the process of updating all food safety publications including NEHA’s Certified Professional Food Manager (CPFM), Certified Professional Food Handler (CPFH), HACCP for Retail Establishments, HACCP Regulator, and the Certified Professional of Food Safety (CP-FS) study guide.
For more information on materials and education from NEHA, contact Rance Baker @ rbaker@neha.org or at NEHA headquarters, Denver, Colorado, 866-956-2258
A full downloadable version of the FDA 2009 Food Code can be found at http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/RetailFoodProtection/FoodCode/FoodCode2009/
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