Food defense is not food safety – defined, food defense is “the protection of food products from intentional contamination or adulteration by biological, chemical, physical, or radiological agents introduced for the purpose of causing harm.” Being a food safety geek, I recently returned to Minneapolis to attend the conference of the Food Protection and Defense Institute. FPDI is a Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence, serving the food industry in the fight against intentional adulteration since 2004. As a food safety geek, I am intrigued about food defense and want to learn more. Maybe you are intrigued too. Here I have compiled five key resources for you to start your own journey down the path of food defense.
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1. Food Protection and Defense Institute
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I love the folks at FPDI. For people who think about crime for a living, they are really nice, normal people. At the conference they showcased local to international speakers, but their website is the star of the show. Here are some of the features of the FPDI website:
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• Food Defense Online Training
• Food Adulteration Incidents Registry (FAIR)
• World Factbook of Food
• Food Defense Readiness Assessment
• Focused Integration of Data for Early Signals (FIDES)
• Intentional Adulteration Assessment Tool
Finally, collaboration through two platforms:
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• CoreSHIELD
• FoodSHIELD
The platforms allow secure sharing of resources among the food defense community. FPDI works globally to monitor food defense.
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While most government documents are good for sleepless nights, I have learned to pay attention to fact sheets and question-and-answer publications from the FDA. These documents condense the information down to the most important facts. FDA published At a Glance documents for each of the seven foundational rules of FSMA. The Intentional Adulteration rule, AKA food defense rule, focuses on who is covered, what the key parts are for a food defense plan, compliance dates, and exemptions. As always, industry is welcome to submit questions to FDA about the rule through its Technical Assistance Network.
3. FDA Voice, by Scott Gottlieb, M.D., March 28, 2018
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In FDA Commissioner Gottlieb’s blog post, We’re Committed to Guarding Against the Intentional Adulteration of Food and Implementing the New Rule Efficiently, we get the latest information straight from the top. I have seen and heard this article cited many times since its release. There is reference to FDA guidance in the article. At the FPDI conference, we were told the FDA guidance for the Intentional Adulteration rule is close to publication. Once available, that guidance will be another resource for industry.
4. Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance
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For food safety geeks, FSPCA is the go-to source for training and other resources. FSPCA is the hub for writing the curriculum for the Preventive Controls for Human Food, Preventive Controls for Animal Food and Foreign Supplier Verification rules. The food defense rule requires training also. The first food defense training from FSPCA is available now, and it is FREE! From the FSPCA website, According the IA rule, individuals assigned to work at actionable process steps and their supervisors, are required to receive training in food defense awareness (21 CFR 121.4(b)(2)). This training is called Food Defense Awareness for the IA Rule. Your employees will need about 20 minutes to complete the online training and a printer to print the training certificate.
5. Matthew Botos, CEO, ConnectFood
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After September 11, 2001 ConnectFood‘s own Matthew Botos developed a food defense program for the food industry. He was ahead of the curve, as usual, taking action before the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 or even the signing in 2004 of Homeland Security Presidential Directive-9-Defense of United States Agriculture and Food.
Either food defense or food safety, we are all in this together. The ConnectFood website has free resources, and the folks at ConnectFood are here to help! Contact us.
About the Author
Kathy Knutson, Ph.D.
Kathy Knutson Food Safety Consulting
Dr. Kathy Knutson works nationwide with food manufacturers on recall investigations, problem-solving, training, and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) compliance. After being trained in 2016 as a Lead Instructor with the FDA-recognized curriculum for Preventive Controls Qualified Individuals, she delivered over 20 workshops to industry. With over 35 years in microbiology and 15 years of full-time teaching, Dr. Knutson is passionate about training and is an effective communicator at all levels in an organization. She has taught and consulted with companies on laboratory methods, interpretation of lab results, quality assurance, sanitation, environmental monitoring, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). As a life-long learner, Dr. Knutson is trained in prevention of intentional adulteration, a topic on the horizon for the food industry. Dr. Knutson is a contributing author at CannabisIndustryJournal.com. Dr. Knutson writes a food safety blog and contributes expert services to manufacturers through connectfood.com, an online site for writing HACCP and food safety plans. When Dr. Knutson is not traveling, she works from home in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where she lives with her husband, two sons, and an adorable Bernedoodle. Learn more about her at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathyknutsonphd