Food Defense and Emergency Response Releases Food Defense Plan for warehouses and distro centers | 04.28.2008 | 10:59:13 | Views: 7293 | ID: April 28 '08: The Federal Food Safety and Inspection Service's Food Defense & Emergency Response program under the purview of the USDA has released a new food defense plan for warehouses and food distribution centers in the event that the nation's food supply comes under attack from a terrorist or other man-made threat. The report, released in early 2008, seeks to mitigate challenges facing the country's food supply and as global commodity prices and supplies strain food availability. In the report, the FSIS said the goal of the plan was to ensure suppliers and distributors had the necessary information available to "minimize the risk that food products in your establishment will be intentionally contaminated or tampered with. A plan increases preparedness. ... During a crisis, when stress is high and response time is at a premium, a documented set of procedures improves your ability to respond quickly." The report suggest three steps to take to begin to prepare for a food safety plan: to have officials conduct a food defense assessment; after the assessment, develop a food defense plan; and finally, implement the food defense plan. Putting those plans into action will help in the event that a terrorist attack or otherwise disaster could lead to civil unrest. To react to a possible breach in food safety, the federal government has developed the Food Emergency Response Network which "integrates the nation's food-testing laboratories at the local, state, and federal levels into a network that is able to respond to emergencies involving biological, chemical, or radiological contamination of food." National Blueprint tags: Transportation & Logistics, Legal & Intergovernmental.(Click below to download file) food_guidance_document_warehouses.pdf
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