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| In order to better prevent and prepare for an intentional attack on meat, poultry, and
egg products, FSIS conducts vulnerability assessments of these food systems. Based upon its assessments, FSIS
develops countermeasures to protect the food supply. The agency also conducts research activities and develops
guidance materials and food defense training programs. These initiatives are conducted in collaboration and
coordination with other federal, state, and local partners, including universities and industry. |
Vulnerability Assessments
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FSIS has completed over twenty vulnerability assessments on meat, poultry, and egg processing systems
(using the CARVER+Shock methodology). Assessments identify the most
vulnerable food products, the critical points in the system where adulteration could occur and the threat
agents of greatest concern. Results from the vulnerability assessments guide the agency's allocation of
laboratory and personnel resources, the development of guidance materials for industry and the identification
of countermeasures. FSIS' vulnerability assessments are collaborative in nature and have involved industry
members, Federal, State, local, and international government officials, tribal nations and law enforcement
agencies. (These are classified documents.)
Some assessments have been conducted as part of the Strategic
Partnership Program Agroterrorism (SPPA). The SPPA is an FBI-led partnership with FSIS, FDA
and DHS, that brings other Federal, State, and local
officials and industry representatives together to conduct vulnerability assessments on a variety of food
commodity systems. The SPPA Initiative is scheduled for completion October 2008.
SPPA First
Year Status Report (Sep 2005 - Jun 2006; PDF Only) and SPPA
Second Year Report (July 2006-Sept 2007; PDF Only)
These reports provide details about what has been accomplished and learned from the vulnerability assessments
conducted during the first and second years of the initiative.
Education & Training
FSIS' countermeasures include training and education activities to raise awareness of food defense issues, on
how to conduct self -awareness assessments and industry resources such as guidance for developing food defense
plans. FSIS field employees receive training on how to identify and report non-routine food emergencies.
FSIS Employees
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FSIS collaborated with FDA, and USDA's Agricultural
Marketing Service (AMS), and Food and Nutrition Service (FNS),
to provide joint food defense awareness training, targeted to Federal, State, and local regulators,
law enforcement officials, and food program administrators. The training is available online at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/
Food_Security_Awareness_Training/.
FSIS issued internal Directive series 5420
to provide detailed courses of action that agency personnel in each program area will take during yellow,
orange and red homeland security threat levels, as designated by DHS. For example, Directive 5420.1, describes
the additional food defense procedures that FSIS in-plant inspectors will take at meat, poultry and egg
processing plants based on the DHS threat level. Food defense vulnerabilities are reported by inspectors
and are reviewed to determine how successfully industry is voluntarily protecting the food supply. Of special
concern, is where there is insufficient technology available to industry to provide adequate protection.
Others areas in the series include In-Commerce, Laboratory Sampling, and Import Re-Inspection.
FSIS develops fictional scenarios, called Security Information Knowledge Exchange (SIKE), to stimulate
discussion and aide field employees as they address these issues.
Additionally, FSIS has incorporated a homeland food defense module in its nine-week course for Public
Health Veterinarians (PHV) which focuses on the PHV's role and inspection activities related to food defense,
detecting foreign animal diseases and symptoms of chemical, biological, or radiological (CBR) contamination.
Industry
Links:
FSIS has developed food defense guidance for food processors, transporters, and distributors of meat,
poultry, and egg products which provide recommendations on actions they can take to ensure that the
products they produce and distribute remain safe and secure. These are available in multiple languages
on the FSIS Internet site.
FSIS, in collaboration with FDA, also developed a vulnerability assessment training program for industry
and conducts training sessions around the country for various industry groups.
In addition, FSIS, in conjunction with industry, issued Developing
a Food Defense Plan for Meat and Poultry Slaughter and Processing Plants (PDF Only), to assist
plants with adopting food defense plans. The guide provides an easy 3-step process that will result in
a completed food defense plan specific to that facility.
Also in conjunction with the warehouse and distribution center industry, FSIS developed A
Guide to Developing Food Defense Plans for Warehouse and Distribution Centers (PDF Only).
FSIS is working with industry to identify "Best Practices" and encourage the development of new technologies
to address vulnerable areas where insufficient technologies currently exist.
FSIS works closely with the DHS-sponsored Food and Agriculture Sector Coordinating Council (FASCC), which is
comprised of many food-related trade associations and companies.
The agency currently monitors FSIS-regulated meat, poultry and egg processing facilities to determine the extent
to which establishments are voluntarily adopting food defense plans. This will assist FSIS in determining what
further measures may need to be taken in the area of food defense. The information will be provided to industry
to inform them of what specific areas require more work and also where there has been success.
International Activities
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One way FSIS is enhancing the sharing of information and coordination of food defense activities with its
international partners is through participation in the Security
and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), a trilateral effort to increase security and enhance prosperity among
the United States, Canada and Mexico through greater cooperation and information-sharing. FSIS has given
presentations on the vulnerability assessment methodology at workshops for Canadian and Mexican government
food regulators.
In addition, FSIS is collaborating with FDA and the U.S. State Department on food defense activities with the
G8 countries. A three-day table top exercise was conducted in May 2008 in Minneapolis, MN.
FSIS, along with USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS),
the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN)
and the U.S. State Department, has developed workshops on food defense
for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies' Counter-terrorism Task Force. The
workshop,
held in Thailand in November 2006, addressed food defense awareness and included practical, hands-on
information on how to conduct vulnerability assessments. A follow-on workshop was held in June 2007 in
Vietnam which focused on building food defense infrastructure and communication strategies. FSIS drafted
a series of food
defense principles which were endorsed by the APEC Leadership in September 2007. Additional workshops are being
explored that will target industries and address food defense plans.
FSIS worked with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) National Targeting Center to develop "rule sets,"
or criteria, to assist in targeting shipments of FSIS-regulated products of highest concern. These rules are put into
a computerized model used as a decision support tool to help target cargo containers for heightened inspection. These
rule sets include factors derived from the agency's legal and illegal imported products vulnerability assessments such
as foods of highest concern, country of origin, and the country's and establishment's eligibility to export to the
United States. A joint workshop was held in March 2008 involving imported meat and poultry products to identify
opportunities to enhance respective policies and procedures.
FSIS also provides its food defense guidance materials to foreign food processors and transporters during the
agency's annual audits of countries exporting meat, poultry, and egg products to the United States.
Research Needs and Strategies
Links:
FSIS has identified high priority areas for research and development pertaining to food defense, such as
testing methods for certain threat agents. The agency is working with DHS' National
Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) and USDA's Agricultural Research Service on several
studies pertaining to the use of certain threat agents in food. The results of these research activities
influence the agency's capability to test for different threat agents, the amount of testing, and which
agents to test for, and informs vulnerability assessments.
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Last Modified: July 15, 2008 |
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