State Retail and Food Service Codes and Regulations by State

Before going into the topic of hand washing, we recommend you to check the current status of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Codex Alimentarius in the retail food industry. The latest version of Codex Alimentarius was manufactured in 2009, but some versions date back to 1993. Prior to 1993, the US Public Health Service introduced several model health regulations. This situation is important as Codex is not a federal law. Codex Alimentarius is a series of recommendations from the FDA on best knowledge of proper handling of food at the retail level. States and regions in the US are authorized to enact laws and regulations stipulating which procedures are appropriate for retail food businesses. 49 out of 50 states and 3 out of 6 states adopt individual food regulations compliant with a specific version of FDA Codex

Restaurants and other retail food businesses are state laws and are regulated by state or local health authorities. Often these regulations require formal inspection of specific design functions, best food handling methods, and certification of food handlers. In some places, letter grades and numerical scores must be highlighted after each check. In some places, inspection defects and treatments are posted on the internet. In addition, the state can maintain and implement its own FDA codex model. For example, in California, based on the safest and safest food handling practices in the retail industry, we maintain the California State Codex Regulation (CalCode), which is part of the Health and Safety Regulations.

More than 3,000 state, regional and tribal agencies are primarily responsible for supervising the US retail food and food service industries. The FDA will support regulators and their regulated industries by providing food regulation, guidance, training, program assessment, and technical assistance for the model.