"Anti-Terror Effort Continues to Gain Speed"
by Andrew Kaplan*

"Everybody's in this together, that's really what it is," says Grocery Manufacturers Association's vice-president of scientific and regulatory policy, Susan Ferenc, when asked about just how prepared the U.S. food industry is for the possibility of a terrorist attack in the wake of September 11th.

By "everyone," Ferenc is referring to the numerous industry trade groups and associations, the food companies themselves and several layers of government agencies-all of whom are doing their share to ensure that the nation's food supply will not be compromised by a malicious act carried out be foes foreign, or for that matter, domestic.

These groups have come together since September 11 in a way not seen since the Tylenol tamper scare in the '80s, according to several officials interviewed. The result: at least four anti-terror documents containing preventative safety measures have been drawn up and circulated amongst hundreds of food companies.

"There will always be more work that needs to be done," says Alice Johnson, DVM, vice-president of Food Safety Programs, National Food Processors Association (NFPA). "But the industry's level of preparedness has improved dramatically since September." Among these documents: Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) "Food Security Preventive Measures Guidance," consisting of two sections, one for food importing operations and the other for food producers, processors, transporters and retailers, FDA's "Operational Risk Management Systems Approach," the NFPA's TEAM (Threat, Exposure, Assessment, and Management) document, and a food security checklist distributed to NFPA members.

The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) also announced in February the creation of the Food Industry Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC), in conjunction with the FBI and the National Infrastructure Protection Control (NIPC).

The ISAC will disseminate food security information to the industry and also help identify specific credible threats and craft warning messages. It will also have experts available to help the NIPC and FBI assess specific threats.

The NFPA has also spearheaded the formation of "The Alliance for Food Security," an informal public-private partnership that provides a forum for information exchange and coordination of preparedness activities among agricultural, food industry and government associations.

"The Alliance was organized within days of the September 11 attacks," says Libby Mikesell, a spokesman for the NFPA. "Within 24 hours of the attacks, we, and many of our food company members, were on the phone with FDA talking about preparing strategies for both prevention of any kind of intentional mishaps as well as rapid response in the event something should happen to affect the food supply."

*Article originally published in "Food Logistics" Issue No. 48, March 15, 2002