Adoption of the Food Code is voluntary. It provides a set of uniform national standards for retail food safety, offering state and local authorities and foodservice and retail establishments guidance and best practices on how to prevent foodborne illness risks.

The Food Code has been published since 1993 and has been updated every four years since 2005, with occasional supplements released during the interim period between Food Code editions. A supplement to the 2022 Food Code was published in 2024.

Key figures from the new FDA Food Code Adoption Report include:

• The 2022 Food Code has been adopted by 11 state agencies in seven states, representing 16.06 percent of the U.S. population, as well as three territorial agencies
• Hawaii and Virginia finished rulemaking for the adoption of the 2022 Food Code in 2024, with effective dates of March and February 2025, respectively; several other states adopted the 2022 Food Code in 2025 and will be included in next year’s annual report
• One of the two most recent Food Code Versions (2022 or 2017) have been adopted by 30 state agencies (in 24 states states), representing 51.92 percent of the U.S. population
• One of the three most recent Food Code Versions (2022, 2017, or 2013) have been adopted by 46 state agencies (in 36 states states), representing 64.64 percent of the U.S. population.

There are 64 state agencies represented in the report, as 12 states have multiple agencies sharing regulatory responsibilities for restaurants and retail food stores. The report also includes Washington D.C., five U.S. territories, and six tribal jurisdictions.

A total of 49 states and Washington D.C. (and 60 of 62 state health agencies) have adopted some version of the Food Code. State-by-state adoption of each version is as follows:

• 2022 Food Code: Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Utah
• 2017 Food Code: Arizona, Delaware, Florida (Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Department of Business and Professional Regulations), Georgia (Department of Agriculture), Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington
• 2013 Food Code: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida (Department of Health), Georgia (Department of Public Health), Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming
• 2009 Food Code: Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Tennessee, and Washington D.C.
• 2005 Food Code: Alaska and California
• 2001 Food Code: Indiana, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont
• 1995 Food Code: South Dakota
• No Food Code adoption: Maryland.

Additionally, four of five territorial jurisdictions have adopted codes based on the FDA Food Code: Guam (2005), the Northern Marianas Islands (2022), Puerto Rico (2022), and the U.S. Virgin Islands (2022).

Of the six tribal jurisdictions included in the report, three have adopted the 2022 Food Code: the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, the Mohegan Tribe, and the Oneida Nation. The other three jurisdictions have not adopted a Food Code: the Chehalis Tribe, the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (which represents the 43 federally recognized tribes of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho), and the Tulalip Tribe.