Colorado State University Extension
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Supplement To The 2001 FDA Food Code Issued
Edited by: Mary Schroeder, M.S., R.D. & Pat Kendall, Ph.D., R.D., Colorado State - Winter 2004
On August 29, 2003, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Supplement to the 2001 FDA Food Code based on several recommendations made as a result of the 2002 Conference for Food Protection. While the complete FDA Food Code will not be revised until 2005 and the changes recommended in the 2003 Supplement have not yet been incorporated into the Colorado Food Code, some of the changes recommended in the Supplement are of interest to those who work with the food service industry. Major changes include:
- Lower the upper end of the temperature "danger zone" from 60ºC (140ºF) to 57ºC (135ºF).
- Revise the hot holding temperature requirement from 60ºC (140ºF) to 57ºC (135ºF).
- Revise cooling requirements to now read cooling "from 135ºF to 41ºF" in 6 hours, with cooling from 135ºF to 70ºF in 2 hours.
Scientific literature, documented in the January 2001 report by the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) supports that the lowered hot holding temperature of 135ºF is still sufficiently above the temperatures at which Clostridium perfringens and Bacillus cereus may grow (max of 126ºF). These two pathogens are estimated by the CDC to be responsible for some 250,000 cases of foodborne illness each year in the United States. Still, the FDA "believes that maintaining food at a temperature of 57ºC (135ºF) or greater during hot holding is sufficient to prevent the growth of pathogens and is therefore an effective measure in the prevention of foodborne illness." As mentioned earlier, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has not adopted these changes into their Retail Food Establishment Rules & Regulations.
Other changes highlighted in the Supplement include:
- Prohibition of bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food by food employees in food establishments serving populations highly susceptible to foodborne illness.
- Allowance that raw animal or partially cooked foods, including raw or soft-cooked eggs, raw fish, raw-marinated fish, raw molluscan shellfish, steak tartare, and rare meat products may be served or offered for sale upon consumer request or selection in a ready-to-eat form if: 1) the food establishment serves a population that is NOT a highly susceptible population, and 2) the consumer is informed via a posted consumer advisory warning that to ensure its safety, the food should be cooked. Note, the regulatory authority has the option of granting a variance to the food establishment exempting this requirement if an approved HACCP plan has been implemented.
- Additional safeguards for food establishments that serve a highly susceptible population related to what types of foods may be used. For example, serving raw sprouts is prohibited, as is the use of raw egg products unless conducted under a HACCP plan that specifically addresses control for Salmonella Enteritidis.
Source:
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service. Supplement to the 2001 Food Code. August 29, 2003. Food and Drug Administration..
