What is the FDA Model Food Code?

The FDA Model Food Code is one of the most important, yet least understood, pillars of food safety in the United States. Although consumers may be familiar with restaurant inspections, health department reports, or the letter grades posted on some establishments, few realize that nearly all of these regulatory practices trace their origins to a single national framework: the FDA Model Food Code. The Food Code is not a law in itself but a scientifically grounded, regularly updated guidance document issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Its purpose is to provide state, tribal, territorial, and local health authorities with a uniform set of recommendations on how to regulate retail food establishments—including restaurants, grocery stores, cafeterias, food trucks, nursing-hom