Cold food will have to be kept colder. Restaurant employees who have certain symptoms won’t be allowed to work. And cooks won’t touch ready-to-eat food with bare hands, but only with gloves, deli paper or tongs.
These are just a few of the changes that will accompany North Carolina’s expected adoption of federal Food and Drug Administration guidelines that will replace a much-amended set of regulations dating from 1976, state and local officials said.
On Thursday, the state Division of Public Health will hold a public hearing on whether North Carolina should adopt the federal Food Code – a more stringent set of guidelines than the current state regulations. Developed by the FDA in collaboration with scientists, academics, industry representatives and physicians, the Food Code is revised every four years based on the most up-to-date science available, said Larry Michael, head of the food protection program at the state division.