AGRICULTURE & FOOD DEFENSE ARCHIVES

Protecting the Food Supply Outside the Walls

When food products disappear, there are no serial or vehicle identification numbers to identify these stolen goods when they re-enter legal markets. Although there is a significant financial concern to the companies, a greater public concern is the safety of the food itself – ranging from improper handling and storage

Checklists for All-Hazards Food Defense Planning

In the not-too-distant past, most food consumed by Americans traveled directly from the farm to the kitchen table. Today, there are a dozen or so stops of varying duration on the way – all of them vulnerable to mold, theft, sabotage, spoiling, and/or infection from zoonotic diseases.

Food Processors – Recovery Before a Recall

Recovery begins during the planning stage. As past unintentional cases of food contamination have shown, the effects of an intentional incident could be extremely costly to food processors and the nation as a whole. Understanding the features that processors should include in their recovery plans will help to quickly restore

New Mexico – ‘Defensive’ About Agriculture & Food

In a state with a large agricultural and food industry, protecting that infrastructure is a difficult yet necessary task that New Mexico takes very seriously. Guidance and support from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have helped initiate innovative programs and exercises to protect the state’s cattle, alfalfa hay, milk,

FINAL REPORT: Food Defense

Food, like water and air, is essential to sustain life. As such, when someone deliberately taints that sustenance at any point in the food supply chain, the result can be devastating. This report addresses the topic of food defense, which is of great importance to the preparedness community, but it

Redirecting Dual-Use Research Regulations

Life science research benefits society in many ways, but also creates certain risks – particularly when that research falls into the wrong hands, either deliberately or unintentionally. Clearly defined rules and regulations governing the results of such dual-use research could help keep scientific research focused on less dangerous and more

Black Swans – Preparing for Pandemic & Biological Threats

The first step in preparing for a “Black Swan” event is to confirm that it actually exists. Once that is done, it is important to recognize its potential impact, implement the plans and strategies needed, and understand the roles played by all stakeholders involved.

Public Health Answers for Non-Public Health Organizations

Private companies and public agencies conduct business as usual most days, but emergency planners at these organizations should be acutely aware not only of the company’s vulnerabilities but also of any external threats to operations that might cause major problems. Cyber attacks, earthquakes, and/or a pandemic flu – to cite

Ready & Able – But Not Always Willing

Public health agencies play a central role in responding to many different types of manmade and natural emergency situations – including, but not limited to, outbreaks of pandemic influenza, biological attacks, radiological incidents/events, and extreme weather emergencies. Unfortunately, the increased number of multi-casualty incidents in recent years (e.g., the 9/11

Building Resilience Early & Geographically

Earthquakes have changed the course of rivers, tornadoes have uprooted and moved trees and homes, and other types of disasters have caused terrain and geographical changes that made it difficult for residents to recognize their own neighborhoods. Geographic information systems offer emergency managers and responders a valuable tool to help

Listeria – When Food Bites Back

Food safety is a top priority at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As the only agency tasked with tracking human cases of foodborne illness at the national level, the CDC works – in collaboration with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Safety &

Promoting Food Security in Disaster Relief Situations

In 2011, 14.9 percent of U.S. households (17.9 million households) were “food insecure,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s study, Household Food Security in the United States in 2011. Those numbers equate to slightly more than 50 million Americans living in food-insecure households: 33.5 million adults and almost 17

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