Terrorism: Food Safety and Security

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 2 of 4)

Food safety and security fall under the jurisdiction of several centers and offices within the FDA, including the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and the National Center for Toxicological Research, which conducts scientific research to support the agency's regulatory needs. The FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine has authority over food additives and drugs given to animals, including food-producing animals.

In the past, food safety concerns centered on accidental and natural food contamination that could occur. But now, there is concern that biological, chemical, or radiological agents could be intentionally introduced into our food supply.

Several recent incidents in other countries highlight the importance of the FDA's watchdog role in food security. In 2002, a restaurant owner in China added chemicals to a competitor's food, killing dozens of people and sending hundreds to the hospital. In another incident in 2002, three people were arrested in Jerusalem for allegedly planning a mass poisoning of patrons at a cafe. And in January 2003, several people were arrested in London for plotting to add a deadly poison called ricin to the food supply on a British military base.

The FDA is responsible for the safety of about 80 percent of the U.S. food supply. FDA oversight includes the safe production, processing, storage and holding of domestic and imported food. The exceptions are meat, poultry and processed egg products, which are under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

If a terrorist-related outbreak occurred in the United States, the FDA would work closely with federal, state, and local authorities to identify the problem, investigate, and get the contaminated products off the market quickly. Here are some examples of how the FDA works to safeguard the food supply:

Prevention and Surveillance: After Sept.11, 2001, the FDA conducted food supply vulnerability assessments. The FDA also issued guidance documents on security measures that the food industry can take to minimize the risk that food will be subject to tampering or other criminal actions. The guidances are aimed at food producers, processors, transporters, importers, retailers, food service establishments, and cosmetic processors. The agency has also issued guidance for the milk industry.

The FDA is working with the USDA and other federal and state agencies on the Electronic Laboratory Exchange Network (eLEXNET), the first integrated, Web-based data exchange system for sharing food testing information. It allows multiple agencies engaged in food safety activities to compare and coordinate findings of laboratory analyses.

A critical component of controlling threats from deliberate foodborne contamination is the ability to rapidly test large numbers of samples of potentially contaminated foods for a variety of biological, chemical and radiological agents. The FDA has worked closely with the CDC and the USDA to establish the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) — a national network of laboratories ready to respond to a food security emergency.

Protecting Imports: The FDA is improving its efforts to ensure the safety of the nearly 6 million food shipments that arrive in the United States each year. With additional funding for counterterrorism, the FDA has hired more than 655 new field inspectors to monitor imports. The addition of these field employees has resulted in increased surveillance of imported foods and enhanced laboratory analysis capacity.

Within the last two years, the number of ports that have an FDA presence has more than doubled from about 40 ports in 2001 to about 90 ports by the end of 2002. In addition, the agency has increased by more than sixfold the number of food import exams conducted at the border, from 12,000 in fiscal year 2001 to more than 78,000 in fiscal year 2003.

The agency has also updated its labs to handle the increased number of food samples that may be contaminated by terrorism. There are more than 90 active FDA research projects on the development of tests and sampling methods to quickly detect contaminated food. A major focus is on developing rapid test kits that can be used to quickly inspect food at ports of entry to the United States.

Four Major Regulations: Under the authority of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, signed by President Bush in June 2002, the FDA developed four new regulations that address provisions of the law.

Registration of food facilities. This regulation became effective in December 2003. It requires owners and operators of foreign or domestic food facilities that manufacture or process, pack, or hold food for human or animal consumption in the United States to submit information to the agency about the facility and emergency contacts. More than 400,000 facilities are expected to register through the FDA's new electronic registration system, which went online in October 2003.

Prior notification of imported food shipments. This regulation, which became effective in December 2003, requires the FDA to receive prior notice of imported food shipments before the food arrives at a U.S. port. The FDA expects to receive about 25,000 notifications about incoming shipments every day.

Establishment and maintenance of records. Manufacturers, processors, packers, importers, and others are required to keep records that identify the source from which they receive food and where they send it.

Administrative detention. The agency has new authority to detain any food for up to 30 days for which there is credible evidence that the food poses a serious threat to humans or animals.

About the Author

www.fda.gov
FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.