The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has just released a new tool to help fight food contamination by strengthening the food industry's defense measures.
The comprehensive, easy-to-use software program called the Food Defense Plan Builder is expected to help owners and operators of food facilities engaged in the primary production and manufacturing as well as retail and transportation to develop well-designed plans that reduce the risk of intentional contamination at their individual food facilities.
The Food Defense Plan Builder helps users navigate through a series of detailed questions about the user's food facility and the food manufactured, processed, packed or held there. The user can then develop a comprehensive food defense plan for the facility, which includes a vulnerability assessment, broad and focused mitigation strategies, and come up with an action plan.
While it is not mandatory, many facilities have voluntarily put some sort of plans into place to safeguard their products.
The FDA now is only helping the food facilities to implement a structured food defense plan, with its latest innovation.
The content in the tool is based on the FDA's food defense guidance documents and as such, the Food Defense Plan Builder is consistent with the FDA's current thinking on food defense preparedness. In addition to providing new functionality for food defense planning and implementation, the Food Defense Plan Builder harnesses existing FDA tools and resources into a single application. These tools and resources include the FDA's food defense guidance documents, Vulnerability Assessment Software Tool, and Mitigation Strategies Database. The FDA has compiled a Food Related Emergency Exercise Bundle (FREE-B) involving scenarios based on both intentional and unintentional food contamination events.
"The FDA is committed to providing best practices and resources to support industry as we pursue our shared goal of protecting our food supply," FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine Michael Taylor said in a news release. "We strongly encourage companies to take full advantage of the Food Defense Plan Builder."
It makes abundant sense to be proactive in terms of prevention although cases of intentional contamination are infrequent. The series of serious adverse public health consequences in the past cannot be overlooked. In 2009, more than 40 people in Kansas became ill after disgruntled restaurant employees intentionally contaminated salsa with a pesticide. In 1996, 12 lab workers at a Texas medical facility became ill after eating pastries that were intentionally contaminated with a virulent strain of Shigella bacteria.
The Food Defense Plan Builder is just that - a defence mechanism against an unforeseen enemy, and to thwart an intentional food emergency. The FDA tool is intended to help owners and operators of food facilities act appropriately to defend the food supply. The FDA acted in the years following the September 11, 2001 attacks by releasing a number of food defense tools and resources against biological, chemical and radiological attack. The measures were intended to help the U.S. food industry, federal partners, state and local regulators, and the international community in protecting the food supply .
FDA is organising a series of Food Defense Awareness Workshops around the country. The goal is to help lower the risk of tampering or other malicious, criminal, or terrorist actions on the food and cosmetic supply, according to the FDA.
