FDA Offers Guidance on Food Security

Operation Liberty Shield initiative advises preparedness and vigilance

By Scott Hume, Managing Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 5/15/2003

The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 granted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) new authority in protecting the nation’s food supply against terrorist acts and other threats. The agency now is proposing new measures in line with that mandate, but the foodservice industry has been excluded from some of the more controversial initiatives.

For example, restaurants and noncommercial foodservice op- erations are exempted from the FDA’s proposal that requires domestic and foreign food facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold food or beverages to register with the agency by Dec. 12. Additionally, registered companies will have to give FDA prior notice of all imported food shipments. While applauding efforts to improve farm-to-table food security, several trade organizations representing food manufacturers and processors have voiced concerns about additional regulatory bureaucracy.

PREVENTIVE MEASURES
As part of its Operation Liberty Shield plan, the FDA also has issued several guidances—recommendations that are not regulations or mandatory—on food security. Two final guidances cover producers, processors and importers. The agency has solicited industry feedback on a pair of draft guidances on security, one of which is targeted specifically to retail food stores and foodservice operators.

While recognizing that its recommendations may not be applicable for foodservice operations of every size, the FDA suggests that management and staff together review and evaluate security measures appropriate for an individual business.

The guidance’s primary recommendation is that every operator prepare for the possibility of food tampering or other criminal or terrorist events. Among the steps suggested:

Assign responsibility for security to a member of the management team.

Conduct an initial assessment of food-security procedures (which should be kept confi-dential).

Create a crisis-management strategy that includes planning an evacuation and become familiar with local, state and federal emergency-response resources.

Work with all staff to ensure they understand procedures for alerting management to problems or suspicious persons.

To prevent their misuse, collect uniforms, name tags and identification badges from former employees.

Closely inspect all product deliveries, including during off hours, for signs of tampering, contamination or damage.

Evaluate, at least annually, security systems and employees’ understanding of or suggestions for improving the systems.