Protecting families from contaminated food and water
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Protecting families from contaminated food and water
Posted in Food Policy,Our Blog on September 30, 2026
Earlier this month the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published the 2026 Food Code. A model created at the Federal level to be used as food safety criteria and recommendations at the state and local levels of food safety enforcement.
This document, published September 17, 2026, is the latest of 28 renditions over the 92 years of its kind. While some of the changes are correcting missing references and minor word choices, there are a few new trends that reflect a more proactive approach, namely “food defense,” and others with inclusions for food trends.
What exactly is the 2026 Food Code and why do we need one? How has the Food Code changed over time? Most importantly, what has changed between the 2026 Food Code and the previous 2022 version?
According to the FDA, “the Food Code is a model for safeguarding public health and ensuring food is unadulterated and honestly presented when offered to the consumer.” It presents advice and addresses food safety and protection at the retail and food service level.
Local, state, and federal governmental jurisdictions responsible for food service, retail food stores, and various food vending operations can use the food safety recommendations as a framework for their own documents, policies, and food safety enforcement activities.
While state and local jurisdictions make their own food safety policies, this 2026 Food Code framework (and all those that came before it) stands as a guide for best practices.
But why are food codes needed anyway?
Food Codes are designed to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. Even with food safety measures in place, foodborne illness causes approximately 48 million infections each year. This results in 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths in the United States each year. Around 1,000 outbreaks of foodborne illness are reported every year!
Instances of foodborne illness cause discomfort and lost work/wages in the best-case scenario. In the worst-case scenario, foodborne illness contributes to the risk of serious or even life-threatening complications. Particularly for young children, older adults, and those with a compromised immune system.
Then there is the overall cost.
The FDA says that “the annual cost of foodborne illness in terms of pain and suffering, reduced productivity, and medical costs are estimated to be $10 – $83 billion.” Reducing risks could reduce the overall cost of foodborne illness.
Certain risk factors overwhelmingly contribute to foodborne illness. The 2026 Food Code addresses these risk factors and offers mitigating strategies and policies to prevent them from occurring.
The most common factors associated with foodborne illness includes:
Each of which is addressed in the 2026 Food Code and most of those before it.
The first rudimentary version of the 2026 Food Code was established in 1934. It was called “Restaurant Sanitation Regulations” and was proposed by the U.S. Public Health Service. The next year it was updated to “An Ordinance Regulating Food and Drink Establishments.”
In 1938 the Ordinance and Code Regulating Eating and Drinking Establishments” replaced the guidance document. Which received updates in 1940 and 1943. The latter was republished in 1955.
Then came the 1957 “The Vending of Foods and Beverages – a Sanitation Ordinance and Code with recommendations of the Public Health Service.
The concept was updated again in 1962, renamed as “Food Service Sanitation Manual Including a Model Food Service Sanitation Ordinance and Code,” later updated to the 1965, 1976, and 1978.
By 1982 we had the “Retail Food Store Sanitation Code, which was presented by the Association of Food and Drug Officials and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
In 1993 we had something close to what we have today. The 1993 Food Code, which became the 1995 Food Code, then 1997 Food Code. Updates in 1999, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, and 2024 revisited the document and made changes as necessary with updates to technology, trends, and scientific information.
So, what has been updated in the 2026 version of the Food Code?
Let’s dive it!
A new term emphasized in the 2026 Food Code is “food defense.” The document defines the term as “the effort to protect *FOOD from acts of intentional *ADULTERATION or tampering.” The key word being intentional.
While intentional adulteration does not happen often, it is a big deal when it does.
We’ve seen some issues with illegal psychedelic drugs in certain chocolate products, cereals containing illegal pesticides, along with restaurants with bad actors purposefully contaminating food. Though the biggest and probably most public example was the suspected intentional contamination of lead used in applesauce which sickened so many children in 2023.
Food trucks are not new. They have, however, experienced a boom in the past decade. So, it is no surprise that mobile food trucks and their corresponding commissaries have made it in the 2026 Food Code.
Local health authorities have made provisions in regulations to help track and keep these mobile food vendors safe and accountable, just as they would if it were a brick and mortar restaurant. However, the “mobile” nature and limitations of small space introduce certain hurdles that must be overcome to ensure food is prepared safely when served to the public.
Perhaps it is something that a consumer may not think about. But restaurants often refill condiments and other containers from bulk supply to save money and reduce packaging. The salt and pepper shakers. Ketchup and BBQ sauce bottles. Sauces and such in the kitchen.
As it has not been addressed in previous Food Code documents, it now appears in the 2026 verson.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart is the gold standard for cooking meats and other foods to ensure proper pathogen destruction. But it isn’t all-inclusive.
Rising popularity of plant-based foods (meat alternatives) prompts this topic’s inclusion in the 2026 Food Code.
However, the document indicates a reliance on the manufacturer’s cooking instructions. Which has been presumably verified to render the food item safe for consumption.
Three new food processing methods have been added to the 2026 Food Code. The acidification process for sushi rice, dehydration, and freeze drying. All someone more common methods of food processing than in previous years.
For sushi rice products, certain critical limits were introduced. The same is included for dehydration and freeze drying.
The former topics do not fully represent all of the new changes to the 2026 Food Code. However, it does include some of the more notable ones. Those in food safety manager, food service, or food manufacturing positions are encouraged to read the full document and refer to their local jurisdiction requirements to make the best decision for their food types and circumstances.
As a consumer, what are your thoughts on the 2026 Food Code? Do you think it makes the food supply safer? Is there a personal impact?
If you’d like to know more about food safety topics in the news, like “Recent Changes to Pre-Harvest Water Requirements Address Major Reasons for Outbreaks and Recalls in Domestically Grown Produce,” check out the Make Food Safe Blog. We regularly update trending topics, foodborne infections in the news, recalls, and more! Stay tuned for quality information to help keep your family safe, while The Lange Law Firm, PLLC strives to Make Food Safe!
By: Heather Van Tassell (contributing writer, non-lawyer)