Food Defense and Emergency Response

Food defense is the protection of food products from contamination or adulteration intended to cause public health harm or economic disruption. In collaboration with partners and stakeholders across government, industry, and academia, FSIS continues to implement an aggressive program to build a resilient U.S. food infrastructure with the ability to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from intentional adulteration of our food supply. The mission of the FSIS Food Defense Program is to protect the U.S. food supply from dynamic and evolving threats.

Program Priorities

Preparedness
Being prepared for an incident involving intentional adulteration can help a company protect its business, product, and employees and will create a more resilient food supply.

Collaboration
FSIS works collaboratively with a diverse body of stakeholders to identify and share information about potential vulnerabilities in the food supply and distribution system. This better equips FSIS and its partners to take steps individually and collectively to protect public health.

Outreach and Education
FSIS has developed multiple tools and resources to educate industry on how to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from an intentional adulteration incident.

Food Defense Topics

Food Defense Overview Provides an overview of food defense concepts, including FSIS’ role in food defense and potential sources and impacts of intentional adulteration on the food supply.
Functional Food Defense Plan Information on what constitutes a functional food defense plan and tools and resources that are available to help industry put a food defense plan into place.
Food Defense Survey FSIS’ assessment of industry’s adoption of food defense practices.
Vulnerability Assessments In order to better prevent and prepare for an intentional attack on meat, poultry, and processed egg products, FSIS conducts vulnerability assessments of these food systems.
International Food Defense An overview of FSIS’ involvement in international food defense activities, including workshops and other outreach initiatives.
Food Defense and Transportation An overview of transportation-specific vulnerabilities related to FSIS-regulated products, including tools and resources the transportation industry can use to implement food defense security measures.
Tools, Resources, and Training A comprehensive list of food defense tools, resources, and training materials for both regulators and industry.