What Changed in the 2026 FDA Food Code: A Plain-English Summary

Quick answer: FDA published the 2026 Food Code on September 30, 2026. The numbers food workers memorize didn't change: 135°F hot holding, 41°F cold holding, the 2-hour and 6-hour cooling rule, 165°F reheating, 7-day date marking, and the sanitizer ranges are all the same. What changed is mostly paperwork and a handful of practical rules. Kitchens need a written employee illness policy and, within four years of their state adopting the new code, a written food safety management system. There are also new rules on double gloving, cooling food 2 inches deep, disinfecting after vomiting incidents, refilling customers' containers, and jewelry.

Nothing changes in your kitchen until your state or county adopts the 2026 edition, which usually takes years. Below is what's new, what it means in practice, and what to do about it now.

Does the 2026 Food Code Apply to Me Yet?

Probably not yet. The Food Code is a model that FDA recommends, not a federal law. It becomes the rule only when a state, county, or city adopts it, often with changes of its own. Adoption is slow: FDA's most recent adoption report found that, as of December 31, 2024, only 7 states had adopted the 2022 edition, and 24 states were on the 2022 or 2017 edition. Many states still enforce older versions, and as of October 12, 2026, none has formally adopted the 2026 edition. Our Food Code by state table shows which edition yours enforces.

Two things make the 2026 changes worth knowing now anyway:

• Health departments and trainers look to the newest edition, and several changes, such as written illness policies, are practices many health departments already encourage.
• Manager certification exams are built on the Food Code. Exam publishers update their content on their own schedules, but the core numbers they test are the same in 2022 and 2026.

The Biggest Changes

1. A written employee illness policy is now required

The permit holder has to provide a written employee illness policy, available on request (§2-501.11). It has to cover how food employees, conditional employees (new hires who have been offered a job), and the person in charge handle:

• the symptoms that must be reported: diarrhea, vomiting, sore throat with fever, jaundice, and infected wounds or cuts;
• the diagnoses that must be reported: norovirus, hepatitis A, Shigella, typhoid fever, nontyphoidal Salmonella, and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli;
• exclusion or restriction from work, and when a worker can return, plus what has to be reported to the health department.

The reporting and exclusion rules themselves aren't new; writing them down is. Inspectors will check it under a renamed inspection report item, "Illness Documentation." FDA's Forms 1-A, 1-B, and 1-C (employee interview, reporting agreement, and medical referral) are a good starting point. Our guide to the employee illness policy covers what it has to say, with a sample statement.

2. Written vomit and diarrhea clean-up procedures, now in their own section

Kitchens already had to have written procedures for cleaning up vomiting and diarrheal accidents. That requirement moved to a new section (§2-502.11) under a new heading, "Policies and Procedures for Employee Illness Management." The procedures have to cover the steps employees take to limit the spread of contamination and protect employees, customers, food, and surfaces. See our step-by-step vomit and diarrhea clean-up procedure and kit list.

3. A written food safety management system within four years

Within four years of a state or local health department adopting the 2026 code, every food establishment needs a written food safety management system that is kept up to date, used during all hours of operation, and shown to the inspector on request (§8-201.15). Places the health department considers minimal risk can be exempted. The code defines a food safety management system as including "written procedures, training plans, and monitoring records."

FDA first published this requirement in its December 2024 Supplement to the 2022 Food Code; the 2026 edition makes it part of the code. In practice it means the checks a person in charge already oversees (cooking, cooling, holding, receiving, sanitizing) need written procedures and records. Our free food safety log templates cover the monitoring records for six of them, and our guide to the food safety management system explains what the written system has to cover.

4. Active managerial control and food defense

The person in charge's duties (§2-103.11) now open with a broader statement: the person in charge has to maintain "active managerial control" of foodborne illness risk factors. There's also a new duty: employees must be aware of food defense, meaning protecting food from deliberate tampering, and report suspicious activity to the person in charge (§2-103.11(R)). The person in charge may be asked to explain the steps the kitchen takes to prevent intentional contamination (§2-102.11(C)(18)).

5. Double gloving, with approval

Single-use gloves are still for one task only. New in 2026 (§3-304.15(B)): if the health department approves, a worker can keep an inner single-use glove on and protect it with a loose-fitting outer glove for each task. The outer glove has to come off by gravity, without peeling, so it never touches the inner glove; it's thrown away after use; and the inner glove has to stay intact and clean. Gloves still have to be changed when they're damaged, soiled, or the work is interrupted (§3-304.15(C)).

6. Cooling: food no more than 2 inches deep

The two-stage cooling limits haven't changed. The list of approved cooling methods (§3-501.15) adds one: placing food at a depth of no more than 2 inches. There's also a new option that needs health department approval: cooked food can be cooled uncovered, no more than 2 inches deep, in a refrigerator that holds 41°F or below and has an electronic system that continuously records time and air temperature (§3-501.15(C)). The code's references now cite a study concluding that food cooled uncovered at that depth poses little risk of pathogen growth.

7. Disinfection after vomiting, blood, or an outbreak

A new part of the code (Part 4-10) separates disinfecting from sanitizing. Equipment, food-contact surfaces, other surfaces, and utensils have to be disinfected when the pathogen involved isn't controlled by ordinary sanitizers, either after contamination with vomit, feces, blood, or other body fluids, or during a foodborne illness outbreak or imminent health hazard (§4-1002.11). Disinfectants are used as their EPA label directs, and food-contact surfaces have to be rinsed with drinking water afterward unless the label says otherwise (§4-1003.11). Kitchens also need a test kit for disinfecting solutions (§4-302.14(B)), and every test kit has to be used as its label directs (§4-501.116(B)).

8. Refilling customers' containers

The rules on refilling returnable containers (§3-304.17) now spell out when an employee or a customer can refill a container with food: it must be designed for reuse, cleaned and sanitized before it's refilled, and inspected by an employee. The refill has to be done without contaminating the food or the dispensing equipment. This matters for refill stations, bulk bins, and coffee shops that fill customers' own cups.

9. Jewelry: a medical device exception

Food employees still can't wear jewelry on their arms and hands while preparing food, except a plain ring such as a wedding band. New in 2026 (§2-303.11(C)): a person with a disability covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act may be allowed to wear a medically necessary device, if it can be kept clean and worn in a way that prevents contamination.

Smaller Changes Worth Knowing

• Other sanitizers need 75°F water. A chemical sanitizer other than chlorine, iodine, or quat has to be used at 75°F or above, unless its EPA label says otherwise (§4-501.114(E)).
• Follow package cooking and rehydrating instructions. Packaged food that comes with cooking instructions should be cooked before it's served, unless the label says it can be eaten without cooking (§3-401.15(C)). Dehydrated food should be rehydrated as the manufacturer directs (§3-501.10).
• Returning to work after Shigella, E. coli, or Salmonella. Medical clearance can now be based on two negative results from a validated laboratory test, not only stool cultures (§2-201.13).
• Covered trash cans in every restroom. All toilet rooms need a covered waste receptacle, not just those used by women (§5-501.17).
• New definitions. "Mobile food establishment" (food trucks, carts, and boats that move as part of their routine) and "food defense" are now defined, and commissaries are explicitly food establishments.
• New guidance documents in the annexes cover food safety management systems, allergens, reusable containers, sushi rice acidification, dehydration, and freeze-drying.

What Didn't Change

Our one-page cheat sheet has all of these on a single printable page. To check that you know them, try a state practice test such as our Colorado food handler practice test.

What to Do Now

• Find out which edition your health department enforces. Its website or your last inspection report will say. That's the version you're inspected against.
• Write your employee illness policy even if your state hasn't adopted the 2026 code. It's quick to do, it's good practice, and FDA's Forms 1-A, 1-B, and 1-C do most of the work.
• Check your vomit clean-up kit and procedure, and make sure the product in it is an EPA-registered disinfectant that's effective against norovirus.
• Start keeping monitoring records. Cooling, holding, refrigeration, receiving, and sanitizer logs are the core of a written food safety management system. Our six free log templates are a ready-made start.
• Make sure your person in charge is certified. The Food Code still requires the person in charge to be a certified food protection manager, apart from low-risk operations the health department exempts (§2-102.12).

Want the paperwork done for you? Our Food Safety Plan Kit has an editable employee illness policy, a clean-up procedure, and a full set of written procedures and logs built on the 2026 Food Code.

The 2026 code didn't change the everyday tools. Staff still need gloves, a calibrated probe thermometer, and test strips to check sanitizer strength, and the printable food handler cheat sheet lists the numbers each one is for. Here is our top pick for each.

Low-cost basics for every shift

Pick	Product	Best for	Buy
Disposable Gloves	Supmedic nitrile gloves, powder-free, 100 ct	Daily food prep. The glove most kitchens should standardize on. All picks	Check price on Amazon(paid link)
Food Thermometers	TempPro (formerly ThermoPro) TP19H digital instant-read	Exam prep and everyday kitchen work. If you buy just one, make it this type. All picks	Check price on Amazon(paid link)
Sanitizer Test Strips	FryOilSaver chlorine strips, 0 to 200 ppm, 100 pack	Any operation using chlorine (bleach) sanitizer. All picks	Check price on Amazon(paid link)

Studying for the manager exam on a commute? "ServSafe Manager Audio Cram," our own audio review from Kanti Press, is built on the 2022 FDA Food Code. The numbers it drills are the same in the 2026 edition.

Frequently Asked Questions

When was the 2026 FDA Food Code released?

FDA published it on September 30, 2026. It replaces the 2022 edition and its December 2024 Supplement as FDA's current model code.

Did the food temperatures change in the 2026 Food Code?

No. Cooking, holding, cooling, and reheating temperatures, date marking, and sanitizer concentrations are the same as in the 2022 edition. The one new temperature rule: chemical sanitizers other than chlorine, iodine, and quat need water at 75°F or above unless their label says otherwise.

Is the 2026 Food Code the law in my state?

Not until your state or local health department adopts it. The Food Code is a model, and each state decides when to adopt a new edition and what to change. Most states take several years.

What is a food safety management system?

In the 2026 Food Code, it's a written set of actions a kitchen takes to prevent foodborne illness risk factors, including written procedures, training plans, and monitoring records. Food establishments need one within four years of their health department adopting the 2026 code, unless they're exempted as minimal risk.

Do I need a written employee illness policy?

Under the 2026 Food Code, yes: the permit holder must have one available on request, covering reportable symptoms and diagnoses, exclusion and restriction, and returning to work. Until your state adopts the 2026 code, it may not be required, but it's a good practice either way.

Is double gloving allowed now?

Only with health department approval, and only in the specific way the 2026 code describes: a loose-fitting outer glove over an inner single-use glove, removed without touching the inner glove and thrown away after each task.

Bottom Line

The 2026 Food Code keeps every number food workers know and adds more writing: an illness policy, clean-up procedures, and eventually a full food safety management system with monitoring records. You don't have to comply until your health department adopts it, but the illness policy and logs are worth setting up now. For how the whole code fits together, see our Food Code explainer.

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