FDA guide helps prevent intentional food contamination
The Food Defense Plan Builder is a user-friendly software program intended to help food facility personnel at all levels (form primary production and manufacturing, to transportation and retail staff) customize plans to prevent intentional contamination.
While the FDA currently does not require such facilities to have food defense plans in place, many such operations are interested in keeping their food safe from vandalism, poisoning and other incidents.
Avoiding health threats
FDA representative Noah J. Bartolucci told FoodProductionDaily.com that the Food Defense Plan Builder is an important resource for producers and other food-involved professionals.
“It can help owners and operators of food facilities to prevent acts of intentional food contamination,” he said. “Acts of intentional contamination are infrequent but can lead to serious public health consequences.”
As Bartolucci pointed out, intentional contamination cases are relatively infrequent, but they still pose a risk to public health. In 2009, more than 40 people fell ill after employees intentionally poured pesticide into salsa at a Kansas restaurant. In 1996, 12 lab workers at a Texas facility became sick after eating pastries intentionally contaminated with Shigellabacteria.
Other tools
The Food Defense Plan Builder is only the FDA’s most recent effort to help food facilities defend the food supply. In the years since the 11 Sept., 2001 attacks, the FDA has released various resources to help the food industry, regulators and the international community guard against biological, chemical and radiological attack.
The Food Defense Plan Builder software tool helps users self-assess risk by asking questions about the facility, type of foods handled and the nature of the processing and packaging operation. Then, it assists in putting together a vulnerability assessment, broad and focused mitigation strategies, and an action plan.
In addition to creating new resources, the Food Defense Plan Builder also brings in existing, such as the FDA’s food defense guidance documents, Vulnerability Assessment Software tool and Mitigation Strategies Database.
The FDA’s Food Defense Plan Builder can be downloaded free of charge at www.fda.gov/food/fooddefense.
