This publication, FDA Food Code 2017, is a model for safeguarding public health and ensuring food is unadulterated and honestly presented when offered to the consumer. It represents the Food and Drug Administration's best advice for a uniform system of provisions that address the safety and protection of food offered at retail and in food service.

This model is offered for adoption by local, state, and federal governmental jurisdictions for administration by the various departments, agencies, bureaus, divisions, and other units within each jurisdiction that have been delegated compliance responsibilities for food service, retail food stores, or food vending operations. Alternatives that offer an equivalent level of public health protection to ensure that food at retail and foodservice is safe are recognized in this model.

Foodborne illness in the United States is a major cause of personal distress, preventable illness and death, and avoidable economic burden. Scallan et al. estimated that foodborne diseases cause approximately 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths in the United States each year. The occurrence of approximately 1,000 reported disease outbreaks (local, regional, and national) each year highlights the challenges of preventing these infections. FDA Food Code 2017 is a publication that every food service operation should use to help prevent foodborne illness.