Food Defense

Food Defense is a neologism for product protection that comes from the Anglo-American language area. The buzzword is the protection of foodstuffs against willful contamination or adulteration by biological, chemical, physical or radioactive substances. Food Defense also considers the relevant physical, personnel and operational security measures.

The term product protection, the term food safety (English: Food safety ) faced, the threats to food by direct contamination or residues describes as from the environment. The term security of supply (English: Food security ) describes the sufficient access of the world population to food, so that an active, healthy life is possible.

Food Defense deals with the implementation of the necessary processes with prevention. This begins with the physical protection and monitoring of transport and production processes and - if necessary - with the rapid retrieval of food that is harmful to health.

History in the USA

• 1906: The Federal Meat Inspection Act stipulates requirements for the slaughter, processing and labeling of meat and meat products from both the USA and imports.
• 1938: The " Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act " sets requirements for the processes for the safety of food, drugs and cosmetics.
• 1957: The “Poultry Products Inspection Act” sets requirements for food safety and the monitoring of poultry farming for human consumption.
• November 2002: In the "Homeland Security Act" as a result of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Congress decided to set up the "Homeland Security" department.
• December 2003: In the "Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7", food and agriculture are classified as infrastructures at risk.
• January 2004: The "Homeland Security Presidential Directive 9" defines measures to protect agriculture and food production from terrorist attacks.
• January 2004: The "Department for Homeland Security" establishes the "Homeland Security Centers of Excellence" in order to successfully implement the established resolutions.
• July 2004: The National Center for Food Protection and Defense opens at the University of Minnesota.
• January 2011: The "Food Safety Modernization Act" transfers further agendas to the FDA for the implementation of protective measures against international threats to food.

Variants of product protection

Incidents involving product protection can generally be divided into three categories. Such incidents can be carried out by disgruntled employees, experts with inside knowledge, or by outsiders. As a rule, however, the aim is to cause as much damage to the food manufacturer's brand as possible.

Industrial sabotage

The aim of industrial sabotage is usually to damage the food manufacturer's brand with the aim of causing financial damage, e.g. B. by triggering a nationwide return campaign. Rarely is this done with the intent of causing a food-borne epidemic or nationwide disease in consumers. Often it is employees who have good process knowledge and know how checkpoints and security controls can be circumvented.

An example of industrial sabotage was provided by a disgruntled employee, Maruha Nichiro Holding, who contaminated his employer's frozen products with the pesticide malathion because he was dissatisfied with his wages. This contamination made a return campaign of 6.4 million sales units and their destruction necessary. Almost 1,800 consumers were affected and consumer confidence in food safety was badly shaken.

terrorism

The complexity and possible widespread impact of attacks on the food industry has meant that this sector has to be viewed as endangered.

The first and so far largest attack on the food industry took place in 1984 in the form of a bioterror attack. In an attempt to influence Wasco County's elections, salmonella contaminated several salad bars in The Dalles, Oregon, causing 751 people to become ill.

Fraudulent falsification

The definition of the FDA reads accordingly: A fraudulent adulteration exists if the adulteration occurs through the intended replacement of ingredients and / or a corresponding addition of ingredients to the food, with the aim of making it appear more valuable or reducing production costs. Example of this is z. B. the prohibited dilution of fruit juices.

Fraudulent adulteration (food fraud) often also arises from the fact that undeclared substances are used to replace expensive substances in order to cheat a financial advantage. Such falsifications are often difficult to detect and pose a major challenge to the monitoring authorities and quality management systems.

The most recent fraudulent adulterations are the horse meat scandal (EU), the melamine contamination of milk (China) or the salmonella outbreak by the “Peanut Corporation of America”. Other incidents related to fish, honey, meat and grain-based foods, but also fruit juices, organic products, coffee, olive oil, tea and spices. Experts estimate that up to 10% of the products sold in retail stores contain more or less large adulterations and estimate the damage to the food industry at 10 to 15 billion US dollars a year.

Protective strategies

Government monitoring bodies and the food industry can introduce strategies and use special tools to protect the supply chain and food production facilities from intentional contamination or adulteration. These tools consist of preventive measures, identifying the possible hazards, assessing the risk (assessing the likelihood of the hazard occurring) and assessing the impact if the hazard has occurred.

Tools

The FDA has developed a number of different tools, including the following:

• Mitigation Strategies Database , covers a range of preventive measures and suggestions for food producers.
• Food Defense 101 , with an emphasis on training and alertness in the event of an attack.
• FREE-B explains the scenarios of intentional and unintentional contamination.
• Food Defense Plan Builder , supports operations managers and managing directors of food companies with the development of personalized product protection plans.

Risk analysis

It is very difficult to assess the risk of a system when the events are very rare and random. Nevertheless, by systematically collecting suitable information, it is possible to identify weak points in the system and to assess the resulting possible consequences. Tools that were developed for this purpose by the “National Center for Food Protection and Defense” are, for example, the FIDES (Focused Integration of Data for Early Signals) or CRISTAL (Critical Spatial Analysis) system.

The FDA has also developed software as a tool and made it available. Firms are encouraged to develop a specific product protection plan based on a vulnerability analysis and risk analysis. Action plans are drawn up for possible scenarios that define which measures must be implemented in each case in the event of intentional or unintentional contamination.

Analysis of vulnerability (hazard analysis)

The FDA has identified four main hazards in its hazard analysis for the food industry:

• Loading and loading of liquids in tank trucks
• Storage and handling of liquids
• Handling of food additives
• Mixing processes in the production of the food

Precise knowledge of these processes leads to the appropriate preventive measures in the risk analysis.

The “CARVER + Shock” method is a well-known tool for analyzing the dangers of intentional contamination.

CARVER stands for:

• C riticality - assessing the economic impact and health of consumers through an attack.
• A ccessibility - Analysis of the possibilities of access to the target of the attack
• R ecuperability - analysis of the ability to recover after an attack
• V ulnerability - analysis of the risk by facilitating an attack
• E ffect - Assess the consequences of an attack based on the direct costs in production
• R ecognizability - Analysis of how easily the target can be identified as a possible target
• S hock - Analysis of the consequences of an attack, taking into account the health, economic and psychological effects.

Monitoring the supply chain

The monitoring of all sub-processes within the supply chain of a food is very difficult due to the complexity and often difficult to understand actions. A detailed analysis of the origin of the raw materials or ingredients can be very helpful in determining preventive measures against contamination or adulteration. Good management of the supply chain, paired with supplier audits and quality assurance measures (e.g. sample plans), can help protect food companies from external attacks.

In addition, food-producing companies can make use of already existing, generally industry-specific guidelines and should also adhere to the guidelines of good manufacturing practice.

Measures to minimize risk

Physical measures

• Securing of the business premises with fences and implementation of regular controls
• Implementation of access controls for people and vehicles on the company premises
• Installation of surveillance cameras and ensuring adequate lighting on the premises as well as the use of alarm systems.

Organizational measures

• Use of systems for the identification and assignment of people to work areas or functions within the company (e.g. work clothing with different colors)
• Carrying out background checks for all employees who work in sensitive areas.
• Implementation of regular training courses for all employees on the subject of “product protection” with the aim of raising awareness of suspicious behavior by other people.
• Use of tools to make contamination visible (sealing of vehicles and piece goods such as individual pallets) ( product protection )

management

• Keeping records that ensure the traceability of the raw materials.
• Creation and availability of an up-to-date list with the necessary contact numbers for local and national authorities.
• Introduction of a control system to check the inventory.

Numerous other guidelines for preventive measures are available in the FDA and USDA databases .

Stakeholders

Worldwide

• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• World Trade Organization (WTO)
• Interpol

United States

Federal level

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
  • Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN)
• United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
  • Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
  • Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
• Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
• Department of State
• National Center for Food Protection and Defense (NFCPD)

State level

• State health departments
• State departments of agriculture
• Local law enforcement

European Union

• European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

credentials

1. ^ Food Defense and Emergency Response . In: United States Department of Agriculture .
2. ↑ What Is Food Defense? . In: National Center for Food Protection and Defense . Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ^ Federal Meat Inspection Act . In: United States Department of Agriculture .
4. ^ Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act . In: US Food and Drug Administration .
5. ^ Poultry Products Inspection Act . In: United States Department of Agriculture .
6. ^ Homeland Security Act . In: Department of Homeland Security .
7. ^ Critical Infrastructure Sectors . In: Department of Homeland Security .
8. ↑ Homeland Security Presidential Directive 9 . In: Department of Homeland Security .
9. ^ Homeland Security Centers For Excellence . In: Department of Homeland Security .
10. ↑ NCFPD: Overview . In: National Center for Food Protection and Defense . Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
11. ^ Protection against Intentional Adultation, Section 106 of the Food Safety Modernization Act . In: Food and Drug Administration .
12. ↑ Ted Agres: Food Defense and Protection . In: Food Quality and Safety . August 6, 2013.
13. ^ Developing a Food Defense Plan for Meat and Poultry Slaughter and Processing Plants . In: US Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service . June 2008.
14. ↑ Poisoning Japanese food: Contract worker arrested after 6 mn products recalled . In: RT . January 27, 2014.
15. ↑ Elaine Kurtenbach: In Japan, Frozen Food Tainted With Pesticides Leaves Hundreds Sick . In: Huffington Post . 23rd January 2014.
16. ^ Michael Osterholm: Addressing Foodborne Threats to Health . In: National Center for Biotechnology Information . 2006.
17. ↑ Economically motivated adulthood; Public meeting; Request for comment, Docket No. FDA-2009-N-0166 . In: Federal Register .
18. ↑ Everstine, Karen, John Spink, and Shaun Kennedy. "Economically Motivated Adultation (EMA) of Food: Common Characteristics of EMA Incidents." J Food Prot Journal of Food Protection 76.4 (2013): 723-35.
19. ^ John Spink: Economically Motivated Adulteration: Another Dimension of the "Expanding Umbrella of Food Defense" . In: Food Safety Magazine . November 2013.
20. ^ John Spink, Economically Motivated Adulteration: Broadening the Focus to Food Fraud . In: Food Safety Magazine . September 2014.
21. ↑ Renee Johnson: Food Fraud and "Economically Motivated Adulteration" of Food and Food Ingredients . In: US Congressional Research Service . January 10, 2014.
22. ↑ Economically Motivated Adultation . In: Federation of American Scientists .
23. ^ Tools and Educational Materials . In: US Food and Drug Administration .
24. ^ Food Defense Mitigation Strategies Database . In: US Food and Drug Administration .
25. ^ Food Defense 101 . In: US Food and Drug Administration .
26. ^ Food Related Emergency Exercise Bundle . In: US Food and Drug Administration .
27. ^ Food Defense Plan Builder . In: US Food and Drug Administration .
28. ↑ Tools . In: National Center for Food Protection and Defense .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
29. ↑ Vulnerability Assessment Software . In: US Food and Drug Administration .
30. ↑ CARVER + Shock Primer . In: US Food and Drug Administration .