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CFSAN/Office of Food Safety, Defense and Outreach
March 28, 2006
Food Defense Acronyms, Abbreviations and Definitions
- AAFCO
- Association
of American Feed Control Officials: AAFCO's goal is to provide a mechanism
for developing and implementing uniform and equitable laws, regulations,
standards and enforcement policies for regulating the manufacture, distribution
and sale of animal feeds; resulting in safe, effective, and useful feeds.
- ABI
- Automated
Broker Interface: A component of the U.S. Customs Service's Automated
Commercial System (ACS) that permits qualified participants to electronically
file required import data with Customs. ABI is a voluntary program available
to brokers, importers, carriers, port authorities, and independent service
centers. This interface serves as one electronic portal for submission of BT
Act Prior Notice Information.
- ACS
- Automated
Commercial System: The system used by the U.S. Customs Service to track,
control, and process all commercial goods imported into the United States. ACS
facilitates merchandise processing, significantly cuts costs, and reduces
paperwork requirements for both Customs and the trade community. This system
serves as one electronic portal for submission of BT Act Prior Notice
Information
- AFDO
- Association
of Food and Drug Officials: Organization of state food and drug officials
which serves the state function for implementing state and or federal food
safety regulations and policy and serves as FDA's primary counterpart in state
government.
- AFIA
- American
Feed Industry Association: A national organization that represents the
business, legislative and regulatory interests of the animal feed and pet food
industries and their suppliers.
- AFSS
- Animal
Feed Safety System: A draft comprehensive,
risk-based Animal Feed Safety System (AFSS), developed by FDA's CVM, which
describes how animal feeds (individual ingredients and mixed feeds) should be
manufactured and distributed to minimize risks to animals consuming the feed
and people consuming food products from animals.
- Agent
- A
biological or chemical poison which may be used for intentional or terrorist
acts (see SFB, VBPV, HSBT, HLBT, WSHSC, LSHSC, LSCLC).
- AHI
- Animal
Health Institute: AHI represents manufacturers of animal health care
products (i.e., pharmaceutical, vaccine and feed additives) used to produce a
safe supply of meat, milk, poultry and eggs, and the veterinary medicines that
help pets live longer, healthier lives.
- APHL
- Association
of Public Health Laboratories: A non-profit organization that works to
safeguard the public's health by strengthening public health laboratories in
the United
States
and across the world. APHL advances laboratory systems and practices, and
promotes policies that support healthy communities.
- ASTHO
- Association
of State and Territorial Health Officials: A national nonprofit
organization that formulates and influences sound public health policy and
represents the state and territorial public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. Territories,
and the District
of Columbia.
- Asset
- Critical
features and building blocks of the Food and Agriculture Sector. See CI/KR
definition.
- AVMA
- American
Veterinary Medical Association: A not-for-profit association representing
veterinarians and is the authorized voice for the profession in presenting its
views to government, academia, agriculture, pet owners, the media, and other
concerned publics.
- BT Act
- Bioterrorism
Act: As a result of the events of Sept. 11, 2001,
Congress responded by passing the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism
Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (the Bioterrorism Act), which President
Bush signed into law June 12, 2002. FDA is responsible for carrying out
certain provisions of the Bioterrorism Act, particularly Title III, Subtitle A
(Protection of Food Supply) and Subtitle B (Protection of Drug Supply).
- BSE
- Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy: A progressive neurological disorder of cattle
that results from infection by an unconventional transmissible agent termed a
prion. BSE possibly originated as a result of the feeding of meat-and-bone
meal to cattle.
- BSL
- Bio-safety
level: There are four bio-safety levels (designated
in ascending order, by degree of protection provided to personnel, the
environment, and the community) developed for
microbiological and biomedical laboratories for safe working conditions.
Guidelines exist as a means of protecting workers from the risks associated
with various manipulations of many agents transmissible by different routes and
consist of a combination of engineering controls, management policies, work
practices and procedures, and, occasionally, medical interventions. BSL 3 and 4
are highly specialized containment facilities for certain rare and dangerous
agents.
- CAERS
- CFSAN Adverse Event
Reporting System:
A comprehensive system to receive
consumer complaints, industry information and other reports used by FDA's CFSAN
for tracking and analyzing adverse event reports involving foods, cosmetics and
dietary supplements. This system will be used as a monitoring tool to identify
potential public health issues that may be associated with the use of a
particular product already in the marketplace.
- CARVER
- An
acronym denoting: Criticality, Accessibility, Recuperability,
Vulnerability, Effect, Recognizability: A risk assessment
tool to conduct vulnerability assessments by determining the "critical nodes"
that are the vulnerable targets for terrorist attacks and lead to the
identification of steps or countermeasures which may reduce the risk to the
production of that product. The intent of the assessments is to
comprehensively assess all FDA regulated products and thus improve the safety
and security of the food supply. Upon completion, the results are shared with
industry and individual companies to apply as appropriate within their
production system. A joint effort is underway entitled SPPA that employs
CARVER.
- CBP
- Customs
and Border Patrol: The unified border agency within DHS to manage, control and protect the Nation's
borders, at and between the official ports of entry.
- CDC
- Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention: The nation's premiere health promotion,
prevention and preparedness agency (located within DHHS) and a global leader in
public health. CDC's mission is to promote health and quality of life by
preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability.
- CFSAN
- Center
for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition: One of six-product oriented centers
in FDA that is responsible for ensuring that the nation's food supply is safe,
sanitary, wholesome, and honestly labeled, and that cosmetic products are safe
and properly labeled.
- CIA
- Central
Intelligence Agency: The federal agency for collecting, correlating,
evaluating and disseminating intelligence for the national security.
- CI/KR
- Critical
Infrastructure / Key Resource: Systems and assets (see asset definition),
whether physical or virtual, so vital to the U.S. that the incapacity or
destruction of such assets, systems, network or functions would have a
debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public
health or safety, or any combination of those matters. KR, as defined by the
Homeland Security Act of 2002, is publicly or privately controlled resources
essential to the minimal operations of the economy and government. The NIPP
provides the unifying structure for integrating CI/KR protection efforts within
and across all sectors over the long term.
- CIP
- Critical
Infrastructure Protection: A national program (AKA National CIP Program),
defined by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and subsequent Presidential
strategies, to protect the nation's critical infrastructure, a responsibility
that is shared among the private sector, local and state governments, and the
federal government. There are 19 CIP Sectors of which FDA participates in the
Food and Agriculture Sector.
- CJD
- Creuzfeldt
Jakob Disease: Classic CJD is a human prion disease. It is a
neurodegenerative disorder with characteristic clinical and diagnostic
features. This disease is rapidly progressive and always fatal. Important
Note: Classic CJD is not related to "mad cow" disease. Classic CJD
is distinct from "variant CJD" (vCJD). vCJD is
another prion disease that is related to BSE and
is believed to be caused by eating contaminated beef products from BSE-affected
cattle.
- COFEPRIS
- Federal
Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks: (AKA: Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos
Sanitarios): COFEPRIS is a part of the Ministry of Health of the United Mexican
State's with a mission to protect the population against sanitary risks through
sanitary regulation, control and promotion.
- Consequence
- The result of a terrorist attack or other incident that reflects the level,
duration and nature of the loss resulting from the incident. For purposes of
NIPP, there are four main categories: health, economic, psychological and
governance.
- COOP
- Continuity
of Operations Plan: An organization needs to be able to ensure the safety of
its employees and the survivability of its critical business functions. Thus, COOP
is a plan that lays out how an organization will maintain operations when a
threat or event is detected. The COOP details the response plan to an event
that may threaten its ability to conduct business--from the initial detection of
the event all the way through the ultimate recovery and resumption of
"normal" processes.
- CSTE
- Council
of State and Territorial Epidemiologists: CSTE represents the epidemiology
and surveillance components of public health and works together with CDC to improve the
public's health by supporting the efforts of epidemiologists working at the
state and local level by promoting the effective use of epidemiologic data to
guide public health practice and improve health.
- CVM
- Center
for Veterinary Medicine: One of six-product oriented centers in FDA that regulates the manufacture and distribution of food
additives and drugs that will be given to animals.
- DHHS
- Department
of Health and Human Services: The United States
government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and
providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to
help themselves. The food safety and defense agencies within DHHS are FDA and CDC.
- DHS
- Department
of Homeland Security: The new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has
three primary missions: to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, to reduce America's vulnerability to
terrorism, and to minimize the damage from potential attacks and natural
disasters.
- DoD
- Department
of Defense: The department's mission is to provide the military forces
needed to deter war and to protect the security of our country.
- DoJ
- Department
of Justice: The department's mission, in part, is to enforce the law and
defend the interests of the United States according to the law.
- eLEXNET
- Electronic
Laboratory Exchange Network: An integrated, web-based information network
that allows health officials at multiple government agencies engaged in food
safety activities to compare, share and coordinate laboratory analysis
findings. eLEXNET is the data capture and communication system for the FERN.
eLEXNET provides the necessary infrastructure for an early warning system that
identifies potentially hazardous foods and enables health officials to assess
risks and analyze trends.
- EOC
- Emergency
Operations Center: EOC serves as the FDA's focal point for all emergency
response activities 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. EOC may receive
notification of an emergency through a variety of means, including from FDA
Headquarters, CDC, USDA, FDA District Offices, FDA Centers, other federal and state agencies, consumers,
and other sources outside the FDA, such as through monitoring of the media.
- EPA
- Environmental
Protection Agency: EPA's mission is to protect human health and the
environment. EPA also leads the nation's environmental science, research,
education and assessment efforts.
- FBI
- Federal
Bureau of Investigation: The investigative arm of
the US Department of Justice. FBI will produce and use intelligence to protect
and defend the nation from threats and to bring to justice those who violate
the law.
- FDA
- Food
and Drug Administration: FDA is responsible for
protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of
human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation's
food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation. The FDA is also
responsible for advancing the public health by helping to speed innovations
that make medicines and foods more effective, safer, and more affordable; and
helping the public get the accurate, science-based information they need to use
medicines and foods to improve their health.
- FDCA
FD&C Act - See FFDCA.
- FEMA
- Federal
Emergency Management Agency: FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) in 2003. FEMA's mission is to lead the effort to
prepare the nation for all hazards and effectively manage federal response and
recovery efforts following any national incident.
- FERN
- Food
Emergency Response Network: A network of state and federal laboratories
that analyze food samples in the event of a biological, chemical, or
radiological terrorist attack in this country. The federal partners in the FERN
are the FDA, USDA, CDC and EPA. The FERN is linked and/or partners with CDC's
Laboratory Response Network.
- FFDCA
- Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act: This law was passed by Congress in 1938 and
is the primary law, among others, that FDA regulates and enforces.
- FFRM
- Food
Facility Registration Module: A system to allow domestic
and foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food for human
or animal consumption in the United States to register with the FDA as required
by the BT Act.
- FGIS
- Federal
Grain Inspection Service: The FGIS, within USDA, helps move U.S. grain
harvest into the marketplace by providing farmers, handlers, processors,
exporters, and international buyers with sampling, inspection, process
verification, weighing and stowage examination services that accurately and
consistently describe the quality and quantity of the commodities being bought
and sold.
- FNS
- Food
and Nutrition Service: FNS, within USDA, manages programs that provide
children and low-income people access to food, a healthful diet, and nutrition
education (e.g., Food Stamp Program, School Meals, etc.).
- FOUO
- For
Official Use Only: The term used to identify unclassified information of a
sensitive nature, not otherwise categorized by statute or regulation, the
unauthorized disclosure of which could adversely impact a person's privacy or
welfare, the conduct of Federal programs, or other programs or operations essential
to the national interest. Information impacting the National Security of the United States and classified
Confidential, Secret, or Top Secret is not to be considered FOUO. FOUO is not
to be considered classified information.
- Food Defense
- Food
defense is the collective term used by the FDA, USDA, DHS, etc. to encompass
activities associated with protecting the nation's food supply from deliberate
or intentional acts of contamination or tampering. This term encompasses other
similar verbiage (i.e., bioterrorism (BT), counter-terrorism (CT), etc.)
- FPA
- Food
Processors Association: A trade association for the food and beverage
industry in the United States and worldwide and provides technical and
regulatory assistance to member companies and represent the food industry on
scientific and public policy issues involving food safety, food security,
nutrition, consumer affairs and international trade.
- FSIS
- Food
Safety and Inspection Service: The public health agency in the USDA
responsible for ensuring that the nation's commercial supply of meat, poultry,
and egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.
- GCC
- Food
and Agriculture Sector - Government Coordinating Council: The government
counterpart to the SCC that is established to enable interagency coordination of
agriculture and food security strategies and activities, policy, and
communication across government and between the government and each sector to collaborate and develop consensus
approaches to the CI/KR protection. Membership is comprised of various levels
of government (Federal, State, Territorial, local and tribal).
- Hazard
- A
biological, chemical, radiological, or physical agent that is reasonably likely
to cause illness or injury.
- HLBT
- Heat
labile bacterial toxins: One of four types of biological agents (e.g. Clostridium
botulinum neurotoxin).
- HSBT
- Heat
stable bacterial toxins: One of four types of biological agents (e.g., Staphylococcus
aureus toxin).
- HSIN
- Homeland
Security Information Network: A communication system (includes all 50
states, five territories, Washington, D.C., and 50 other major urban areas) to
deliver real-time interactive connectivity among state and local partners and
with the DHS Homeland Security Operations Center (HSOC) through the Joint
Regional Information Exchange System (JRIES).
- HSOC
- Homeland
Security Operations Center: Serves as the nation's nerve center for
information sharing and domestic incident management to increase the vertical
coordination between federal, state, territorial, tribal, local, and private
sector partners.
- HSPD
- Homeland
Security Presidential Directive: In general, presidential directives are a form of
executive order issued by the President of the United States with the advice
and consent of the National Security Council. HSPD are specific directives
regarding homeland security.
- IFT
- Institute of Food Technologists: A nonprofit scientific
society to advance the science and technology of food, and related professions
in industry, academia and government.
- IFWG
- Interagency
Food Working Group: A working group consisting of representatives from
many federal agencies (e.g., USDA, EPA, DHHS, DoD, etc.) to discuss issues of a
particular topic. This group was formed under the White House Homeland
Security Council.
- JRIES
- Joint
Regional Information Exchange System: A secure network and a suite of
applications operating at the sensitive but unclassified (SBU) level and provides a platform for communications through
the classified SECRET level to state offices.
- ISAC
- Information
Sharing and Analysis Center: Prior to formation of DHS, the FBI used this
organizational concept for two-way communication of security alerts. With the
formation of DHS, use of CIPs, and development of HSIN platform, the ISAC and
other entities such as the Coordination Councils may serve the same role. ISAC
is a Public/Private Sector partnership between the Food Industry and the
National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) of the FBI. ISAC's purpose is
the rapid and confidential dissemination of information gathered by the
government's intelligence community to the food industry regarding any actual
or potential threats arising from deliberately malicious or terrorist activity.
Beyond that, the ISAC also serves as a vehicle for communicating confidential information
from the industry on any actual, threatened or suspected deliberate malicious attacks
so that information can be analyzed by the Department of Homeland Security.
- LRN
- Laboratory
Response Network: The CDC network of state public health laboratories
developed to provide surge capacity for samples resulting from a public health
emergency caused by a select agent. FERN biological laboratory network members
performing select agent analysis will also have to become members of the LRN
- LSHLC
- Lipid
soluble, heat labile chemicals: One of three types of chemical agents
(e.g., ricin).
- LSHSC
- Lipid
soluble, heat stable chemicals: One of three types of chemical agents
(e.g., digoxin).
- NACCHO
- National
Association of County and City Health Officials: A National organization
representing local governmental public health agencies (including city, county,
metro, district, and tribal agencies). These agencies work every day on the
front lines to protect us and to promote the health of our communities.
NACCHO supports public health in local communities by calling for strong
national policy, developing useful resources and programs, seeking health
equity, and supporting effective local public health practice and systems.
- NALBOH
- National
Association of Local Boards of Health: NALBOH is a grassroots foundation
engaged in establishing a significant voice for local boards of health on
matters of national public health policy, resource allocation, and education.
- NASDA
- National
Association of State Departments of Agriculture: A nonprofit organization
that represents the state departments of agriculture in the development,
implementation, and communication of sound public policy and programs which
support and promote the American agricultural industry, while protecting
consumers and the environment.
- NEHA
- National
Environmental Health Association: NEHA works to advance, in terms of
education and motivation, the environmental health and protection professional
for the purpose of providing a healthful environment for all.
- NGFA
- National
Grain and Feed Association: A non-profit trade association that provides
services for grain, feed and grain-related commercial businesses. NGFA
represents member interests before government and other entities and is focused
on the growth and economic performance of U.S. agriculture.
- NIMS
- National
Incident Management System: NIMS establishes standardized incident
management processes, protocols, and procedures that all responders -- Federal,
state, tribal, and local -- will use to coordinate and conduct response actions
when a homeland security incident occurs -- whether terrorism or natural
disaster.
- NIPP
- National
Infrastructure Protection Plan: This plan provides guidance for further
developing and implementing the National CIP Program by providing the unifying
structure for the integration of CI/KR protection efforts. The overarching
goal is to enhance protection of the Nations CI/KR in order to prevent, deter,
neutralize, or mitigate the effects of deliberate efforts by terrorists to
destroy, incapacitate, or exploit them; and enable national preparedness,
timely response, and rapid recovery in the event of an attack, natural
disaster, or other emergency.
- Normalize
- In the
context of NIPP, to normalize is the process of transforming risk data into comparable
units.
- OASIS
- Operational
and Administrative System for Import Support: An automated FDA system for
processing and making admissibility determinations for shipments of
foreign-origin FDA-regulated products seeking to enter domestic commerce.
- OCI
- Office
of Criminal Investigation: OCI has the primary responsibility for all
criminal investigations conducted by the FDA, including suspected tampering
incidents and suspected counterfeit products. Similarly, OCI has primary
responsibility and is the primary point of contact for all law enforcement and
intelligence issues pertaining to threats or perceived threats against FDA
regulated products. OCI participates in numerous law enforcement and intelligence
task forces both nationally and internationally to include a full time
representative to Interpol.
- OCM
- Office
of Crisis Management: OCM serves as the FDA's focal point for coordinating
emergency and crisis response activities involving FDA regulated products or in
situations when FDA regulated products need to be utilized or deployed. It
coordinates intra-agency and inter-agency activities related to crisis
management, emergency preparedness and response, and security operations.
- OFSDO
- Office
of Food Safety, Defense and Outreach: An office within CFSAN that is
responsible for leading and coordinating food safety and food defense efforts
as well as all outreach conducted by the Center.
- OPHEP
- Office
of Public Health Emergency Preparedness: OPHEP serves as the principal
advisory staff to the secretary of DHHS on matters related to bioterrorism and
other public health emergencies. OPHEP also coordinates interagency activities
between DHHS, other Federal departments, agencies, offices and State and local
officials responsible for emergency preparedness and the protection of the
civilian population from acts of bioterrorism and other public health
emergencies.
- ORA
- Office
of Regulatory Affairs: The ORA is the lead office for all Field activities
of the FDA.
- ORM
- Operational
Risk Management: A simplified risk assessment process
that ranks agent: commodity combinations based on two factors: severity and
frequency. FDA employed ORM to prioritize risks, target resources and focus
our efforts on short-term accomplishments.
- PNSI
- Prior
Notice System Interface: As a result of the Bioterrorism
Act, FDA must receive prior notice before food is imported or offered for
import into the United States. Brokers or exporters may use CBP systems-
ABI/ACS or FDA's system-PNSI to comply.
- Prevention
- Actions
taken to avoid an incident or to intervene to stop an incident from occurring.
- Prioritize
- In
the context of NIPP, to prioritize is the process of using risk assessment
results to identify where risk-reduction efforts are most needed and
subsequently which protective actions should be instituted in order to have the
greatest effect.
- Recovery
- The
return-to-service activities that industry and government must undertake to
assure consumers the products will be safe and secure following an event. The
development, coordination and execution of service- and site-restoration plans
for impacted communities and the reconstitution of government operations and
services through individual, private sector, non-governmental and public
assistance programs.
- Response
- Activities
that address the short-term, direct effects of an incident (e.g., save and
limit loss of life and property, meet basic human needs, execution of emergency
plans, apply intelligence to lessen consequences, immunizations, law
enforcement operations).
- SCC
- Food
and Agriculture - Sector Coordinating Council: A self-organized, self-run
and self-governed committee, composed of members in the food and agriculture
sector that serves as the GCC/government's point of entry into each sector
(i.e., plant and animal producers, manufacturers, restaurants, retail,
warehouses and agriculture production) for developing and coordinating a wide
range of infrastructure protection activities and issues (e.g., research and
development, outreach, information sharing, vulnerability
assessments/prioritization, shielding and recovery).
- SFB
- Spore-forming
bacteria: One of four types of biological agents (e.g., Bacillus
anthracis).
- SPPA
- Strategic
Partnership Program Agroterrorism Initiative: An initiative among federal
and state government agencies and private sector volunteers to provide
government and industry with a more complete sector-wide perspective of food
and agriculture defense. Under the initiative, vulnerability assessments will
be conducted in the food and agriculture sector to help distinguish between
real and perceived food defense vulnerabilities and risks within the food and
agriculture sector. It also will assist in identifying potential mitigation
measures and strategies that may be appropriate for the food and agriculture
sector. In addition, the SPPA will assist in the identification of research
needs and the allocation of research investments to address priority needs.
- SSA
- Sector-Specific
Agencies: CIP Agencies that have primary responsibility for the Sector
industry (e.g., DHHS and USDA are responsible for food and agriculture,
Department of the Treasury is responsible for banking and finance, DOT and DHS are
responsible for transportation systems).
- SSP
- Sector-Specific
Plan: Developed by each SSA, this plan supports the same risk management
approach and key steps in NIPP. This plan determines the processes used, the
implementation of these processes, and the status of efforts supporting this
plan.
- Threat
- An indicator
of possible violence, harm or danger that includes both intent and
capabilities.
- TOPOFF
- Top
Officials: A national-level, multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional,
"real-time", limited-notice weapons of mass destruction (WMD)
response exercise, designed to better prepare senior government officials to
effectively respond to an actual terrorist attack involving WMD. In addition,
TOPOFF involves law enforcement, emergency management first responders, and
other non-governmental officials. Short of an actual attack, such exercises
are the best possible way to train responders, gauge preparedness, and identify
areas for improvement.
- USAHA
- U.S.
Animal Health Association: USAHA is a science-based, non-profit, organization
that provides a national forum for animal health issues. USAHA works with
state and federal governments, universities, veterinarians, livestock
producers, national livestock and poultry organizations, research scientists,
the extension service and seven foreign countries to control livestock diseases
in the United States.
- USDA
- U.S.
Department of Agriculture: USDA supports the U.S. food and agriculture
system by provide leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, and
related issues based on sound public policy and science, and efficient
management.
- VBPV
- Vegetative
bacteria, protozoa, and viruses: One of four types of biological agents
(e.g., Salmonella).
- Vulnerability
- A
weakness in the design, implementation or operation of an asset or system that
can be exploited by an adversary or disrupted by a natural hazard.
- WSHSC
- Water
soluble, heat stable chemicals: One of three types of chemical agents
(e.g., cyanide).