WASHINGTON — Food manufacturers must be more vigilant about keeping their operations clean under new government safety rules released Thursday in the wake of deadly foodborne illness outbreaks linked to ice cream, caramel apples, cantaloupes and peanuts.

The rules, once promoted as an Obama administration priority and in the works for several years, ran into delays and came out under a court-ordered deadline after advocacy groups had sued. Even then, the Food and Drug Administration allowed the Aug. 30 deadline to pass without releasing the rules to the public.

When the rules go into effect later this year, food manufacturers will have to prepare food safety plans for the government that detail how they are keeping their operations clean and show they understand the hazards specific to their product.

The plans will lay out how they handle and process food and how they monitor and clean up dangerous bacteria like listeria, E. coli or salmonella that may be present, among other safety measures.

The idea is to put more focus on prevention in a system that for decades has been primarily reactive to outbreaks after they sicken or even kill people. The majority of farmers and food manufacturers already follow good food safety practices, and the law would aim to ensure that all do.

“The food safety problems we face have one thing in common — they are largely preventable,” said Michael Taylor, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 48 million people — or 1 in 6 Americans — get sick annually from foodborne diseases. An estimated 3,000 people die.

FDA investigators have often found dirty equipment in food processing facilities after deadly outbreaks. In the Blue Bell ice cream outbreak this year, FDA inspectors found many violations at a company plant, including dirty equipment, inadequate food storage, food held at improper temperatures and employees not washing hands appropriately. Three listeria deaths were linked to ice cream produced by the company.