Creating a Food Defense/ Response Plan in Food Processing Facilities
C.L. Lorenzen1 and C.N. Cutter2
University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States, 2Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
For the life of me, I cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply, because it is so easy to do.
Tommy Thompson, Secretary of Health and Human Services, 2004.
Food safety and food defense programs are designed to protect food products. However, it is important to understand that food safety programs are developed to prevent unintentional contamination from items such as metal, plastic, pathogens, pesticides, or sanitizers entering the food supply. Food defense programs are intended to prevent intentional contamination by individuals who deliberately contaminate food products and cause harm to the company or to the consumer. This chapter will discuss the creation and implementation of food defense/response plans in food processing facilities. Discussion of food defense plan requirements by the Food and Drug Administration is current with the Federal Register Notice for Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration 5/27/16, which is the final rule (Federal Register, 2016).
