Vomit and Diarrhea Clean-up Procedure for Restaurants (2026 Food Code)

Quick answer: the FDA Food Code requires every restaurant to have written procedures employees follow when someone vomits or has diarrhea in the building (§2-502.11 in the 2026 edition). The procedure has to cover the specific steps that limit the spread of contamination and protect employees, customers, food, and surfaces. In practice that means a stocked clean-up kit, trained responders, and a set routine: close off the area, put on protective gear, remove the mess, clean, disinfect with a product that works on norovirus, throw out exposed food, and record what happened.

The 2026 Food Code adds a new part on disinfection (Part 4-10) that spells out how surfaces are disinfected after vomit, feces, or blood, and it requires a test kit for disinfecting solutions. Here's what to put in your kit and your written procedure.

What the Food Code Requires

• A written procedure for responding to vomiting or diarrheal events (§2-502.11). This isn't new: the 2017 and 2022 Food Codes have the same rule in §2-501.11, and the 2013 edition required procedures without saying they had to be written. In 2026 it moved under a new heading, "Contamination Event Response Procedures."
• Disinfection of equipment, food-contact surfaces, other surfaces, and utensils contaminated with vomit, feces, blood, or other body fluids, or during a foodborne illness outbreak, when the germs involved aren't controlled by the sanitizers you have (§4-1001.11, §4-1002.11). Some sanitizers used on food-contact surfaces may not work on norovirus.
• Disinfectant used as its EPA label directs, and food-contact surfaces rinsed with drinking water afterward unless the label says otherwise (§4-1003.11).
• A test kit that accurately measures the concentration of your disinfecting solution (§4-302.14(B)), used as its maker directs (§4-501.116(B)).

Inspectors check the written procedure under item 5 of FDA's model inspection report, "Illness Documentation," together with your employee illness policy.

Why Norovirus Changes the Clean-up

The Food Code's Annex 3 explains why vomit gets its own procedure. Norovirus is the leading cause of foodborne disease outbreaks in the United States. As few as 10 to 18 virus particles may be enough to make someone sick, and a single projectile vomiting incident can spread 300,000 of them. Vomit droplets travel through the air and land on surfaces well beyond the visible mess, and the virus can survive on surfaces for at least 5 days at room temperature. Routine cleaning without a disinfectant that works on norovirus may not remove it, and can spread it to other surfaces.

What Goes in a Clean-up Kit

Keep one complete kit where every shift can reach it, stored away from and below food, equipment, and single-use items (§7-201.11). Check it monthly and restock it after every use.

• An EPA-registered disinfectant that works on norovirus. Check the label for norovirus and note the contact time. EPA publishes the list of registered products effective against norovirus (List G).
• A test kit or strips that measure the concentration of your disinfecting solution (§4-302.14(B)). If you mix bleach, ordinary sanitizer strips won't read that high; see the high-range strips below.
• Absorbent powder to soak up liquid; the Food Code allows a small amount of absorbent compound for liquid spills (§6-501.13).
• Protective gear for two responders: disposable gloves (enough to change them), masks and eye protection, disposable gowns or aprons, and shoe covers.
• A disposable scoop and scraper, paper towels, and heavy plastic bags with ties.
• Labeled spray bottles for the disinfectant (§7-102.11), a bucket for mixing, and a bucket of clean water for rinsing.
• Signs, cones, or tape to close off the area, and a copy of your written procedure.

What We'd Buy

We checked each of these on its Amazon page, and checked the disinfectants against their EPA-registered labels and EPA's norovirus list (List G). Whatever you buy, read the label on the bottle you receive for the norovirus claim and contact time.

A disinfectant that works on norovirus. PURELL Professional Surface Disinfectant comes ready to use. Its maker and its EPA label list norovirus at a 30-second contact time, with no rinse needed even on food-contact surfaces, and its EPA registration is on List G.

If you prefer bleach, Clorox Healthcare Bleach Germicidal Cleaner is a ready-to-use bleach spray. Its EPA label lists norovirus and hepatitis A at 1 minute, and requires a drinking-water rinse on food-contact surfaces.

A ready-made kit. The PURELL Body Fluid Spill Kit holds two sets of single-use supplies in a carrying case: an 8-ounce bottle of PURELL's food-service surface spray (the same EPA registration as the disinfectant above), absorbent powder, a scraper and dustpan, absorbent towels, trash bags, and head-to-toe protection (gown, gloves, shoe covers, mask, eye shield, and hair net). Keep a full-size disinfectant too; one small bottle may run short on a large spill.

For a cheaper kit, this single-use pack has vinyl gloves, a face mask with eye shield, an impervious gown, a scoop and scraper, Red Z solidifier, and a biohazard bag. Its one disinfecting wipe isn't enough for a vomit clean-up, and the listing doesn't say whether it works on norovirus, so pair it with one of the disinfectants above.

Absorbent powder. SMELLEZE turns vomit or diarrhea into a gel you can scoop; the maker says one teaspoon solidifies 1.5 cups of liquid. It only absorbs, so you still clean and disinfect afterward.

High-range test strips, if you mix bleach. Bleach mixed for disinfecting is far stronger than sanitizer, beyond the 0 to 200 ppm range of the usual sanitizer strips. These read 0 to 10,000 ppm. The ready-to-use sprays above come at label strength, so there's nothing to mix.

For gloves and sanitizer test strips for everyday use, see our guides to disposable gloves and sanitizer test strips.

Step by Step

1. Respond right away. Tell the person in charge. Move the sick person away from food, stop food preparation and service nearby, and close off a wide area, since droplets travel beyond what you can see. If the sick person is an employee, they stop work and don't clean up.
2. Put on protective gear before touching anything: gloves, mask and eye protection, gown or apron, and shoe covers.
3. Contain and remove it. Cover the spill with absorbent powder or paper towels, then scoop it up from the outside edge toward the center and bag it. Don't sweep or vacuum. Clean the area and any splashed surfaces with soap and water until no soil is visible.
4. Disinfect. Mix the disinfectant as its label directs and check it with the test kit. Apply it to floors, walls, tables, chairs, counters, equipment, and nearby high-touch surfaces like door and faucet handles, and keep the surface wet for the full contact time on the label. Rinse food-contact surfaces with drinking water afterward unless the label says otherwise, then sanitize them before use.
5. Deal with food and utensils. Throw away any food that may have been exposed, including food on nearby tables and prep areas; food contaminated by body fluids has to be discarded (§3-701.11). Discard single-use items in the area. Disinfect reusable utensils and equipment, then wash, rinse, and sanitize them as usual.
6. Bag the waste, remove the gear, and wash up. Double-bag everything and take it straight to the outside dumpster. Take gloves off last, wash hands and arms for at least 20 seconds, bag soiled linens and uniforms for laundering, and change into clean clothes before going back to food work.
7. Reopen and record. The person in charge checks the area before it reopens. Record the date, location, who cleaned up, the products and contact time used, and the food thrown out. Restock the kit.

If the Sick Person Is an Employee

A food employee who vomits or has diarrhea must be excluded from work (§2-201.12). Without a diagnosis, they can come back after being symptom-free for at least 24 hours; a norovirus diagnosis means longer rules and a call to the health department. Any ready-to-eat food the employee may have contaminated has to be thrown out. Our guide to the employee illness policy has the full exclusion and return-to-work rules.

Employees who cleaned up should report any vomiting or diarrhea in the following days: Annex 3 cites a study that found employees who cleaned up vomit were more likely to get sick. And if two or more people get sick after eating the same food, call your health department; that's a foodborne disease outbreak, and the Food Code calls for disinfection during one.

Want it done for you? Our Food Safety Plan Kit has an editable version of this procedure with a kit checklist and an incident record, plus the employee illness policy and the rest of the written procedures the 2026 Food Code asks for.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do restaurants need a written vomit clean-up procedure?

Yes, in most places. The FDA Food Code has required written procedures for responding to vomiting and diarrheal events since the 2017 edition (§2-501.11 in 2017 and 2022, §2-502.11 in 2026), and the 2013 edition required procedures. Your health department enforces one of these editions or its own version, so check its rules.

Can I use my regular sanitizer to clean up vomit?

Not unless its label says it kills norovirus. The Food Code notes that some sanitizers used on food-contact surfaces may not work against viruses like norovirus. Use an EPA-registered disinfectant with a norovirus claim, following its label directions and contact time.

What should be in a vomit clean-up kit?

A norovirus-rated disinfectant, a test kit for the disinfecting solution, absorbent powder, disposable gloves, masks, eye protection, gowns or aprons, shoe covers, a scoop and scraper, paper towels, heavy plastic bags, and signs to close off the area.

Do I have to throw away food after someone vomits?

Yes, any food that may have been exposed. The Food Code requires discarding food contaminated by body fluids, and vomit droplets travel farther than the visible spill, so discard food on nearby tables, counters, and prep areas.

Do food-contact surfaces need rinsing after disinfecting?

Yes, under the 2026 Food Code: rinse them with drinking water after disinfecting, unless the disinfectant's EPA label says otherwise (§4-1003.11). Then sanitize them before use.

Bottom Line

A vomit clean-up procedure is a short written routine, a stocked kit, and a couple of trained people on every shift. The part most kitchens get wrong is the chemical: use a disinfectant whose label says it works on norovirus, leave it on for the full contact time, and rinse food-contact surfaces afterward.

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