Health & Safety Backgrounder
FDA Model Food Code: Timeline and Key Documents

These documents outline in detail the National Restaurant Association's positions on the FDA Model Food Code. If you have questions, contact the Association's Health and Safety Regulatory Affairs Department at (202) 331-5900.

Date	Documents
Feb 2004	NRA submits issues to the 2004 CFP In preparation for the 2004 Conference for Food Protection, the NRA submits the following isssues to the CFP for consideration: • Consumer Advisory Modification [PDF] or [doc] • Preventing Contamination from Hands [PDF] or [doc] • Defining "Complying With the Code" [PDF] or [doc] • Certification of Health Officials [PDF] or [doc]
May 2002	CFP makes recommendations to the FDA After its April 2002 meeting the Conference for Food Protection's three councils submitted dozens of recommendations to the FDA on how to change the Model Food Code, including many of the changes suggested by the NRA. Whether the FDA will incorporate the CFP recommendations into the next version of the Food Code is not yet known. NRA summaries of CFP's recommendations (MS Word)
Feb 2002	NRA submits issues to the 2002 CFP The NRA asks the Conference for Food Protection to consider the following issues, important to the restaurant industry, at the CFP's April 2002 meeting (MS Word files). • Preventing Contamination from Hands -- Sec. 3-301-11 • Ten-Year Exemption from 41°F Standard for Existing Refrigerators -- Sec. 3-501.16 • Consumer Advisory Modification -- Sec. 3-603.11 • Certification of Health Officials -- Sec. 8-402.11 • Ready-to-eat, Potentially-hazardous foods, Date Marking, Sec. 3-501.17 (A) and 3-501.17 (B) • Change Hot Holding Temperatures from 140°F to 130°F -- Sec. xxx.xxx.xxx • Non-Critical Violation Criteria for Hot Holding -- Sec. 3-501.16 (A) • Ready-to-eat Food Definition -- Sec. xxx.xxx.xx • Cooling Potentially Hazardous Foods -- Sec. 3-501.14(A)(2) • Backflow Prevention Devices on Carbonator -- Sec. 5-203.15 • Warewashing Machines, Automatic Dispensing Equipment and Sanitizer Alarms -- Sec. 4-204.117
Feb 2002	NRA submits comments to FDA The NRA submits official comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the 2001 Model Food Code, suggesting changes and noting the NRA's disappointment that the FDA failed to incorporate some earlier restaurant-industry recommendations and proposed new provisions without any restaurant-industry input. [text] or [pdf]
Dec 2001	FDA publishes 2001 FDA Model Food Code Get a copy of the 2001 Food Code on the FDA Web site