Speaker Abstract: S-15
Vulnerability Assessments and Prioritization
Robert E. Brackett, Ph.D., Director, Center for Food Safety and Applied utrition/FDA
Food safety and security are integrated goals. By building upon the Nation's core food safety and public health systems and expertise, and strengthening expertise and capabilities to address the terrorist threat, FDA is enhancing food security and improving food safety in the progress. Using the methodologies such as Operational Risk Management (ORM) and CARVER, FDA has developed vulnerability assessments for foods. These assessments use processes adapted from techniques developed by the U.S. Department of Defense for use in assessing the vulnerabilities of military targets to asymmetric threats. The assessments evaluate the public health consequences of a wide range of product-agent scenarios associated with potential tampering, criminal, malicious, or terrorist activity. This relative risk ranking has been designed to facilitate decision-making about the assignment of limited Federal, state, and local public health resources to minimize such risks. It is also designed to assist the food industry in identifying areas where enhancements in preventive measures can increase the security of the food supply. The internal assessment identified a number of food/agent combinations that FDA is focusing on to implement shields for protecting those commodities. FDA is continuing to conduct assessments of the vulnerability of FDA-regulated foods to intentional contamination with biological, chemical and radiological agents. Results of the assessments are being used to develop countermeasures, identify research needs, and provide guidance to the affected industry.
2004 FDA Science Forum | FDA Chapter, Sigma Xi | CFSAN | FDA
Last updated on 2004-MAY-28 by frf