WHAT IS FOOD DEFENSE?

The concept began to gain notoriety from the terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001 and the subsequent publication of the Bioterrorism Law in 2002. The Food Defense is therefore a term considered by some legislative bodies of American public administration as Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Homeland Security, defining "the protection of foodstuffs against intentional adulteration by biological, chemical, physical or radiological agents" whose objective is the protection of national food supply if possible terrorist attacks, not only to individuals but also to crops and animals.

It´s a mistake confuse Food Defense with the Food Safety, as integrated management systems safety HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), although the new policy trends in the European Union can make us foresee that arrive soon to demand the implementation of preventive parallel processes on Food Defense independently.

In this way, a Food Defense Plan will identify, mitigate and monitor potential sources of intentional contamination of food, I integrating processes in Food Safety Plans companies and industry organizations. The commitment of all professional teams, along with the assessment of vulnerability, increased security measures, the implementation of controls throughout the production and logistics process with effective response to incidents, are key factors Plan.

Notwithstanding the above, does the regulation is needed on Food Defense? And, especially, how it affects the companies in our sector?...

As we have seen, Food Defense systems establish a preventive procedure, using various tools of control, trying to locate sensitive or vulnerable points in the food process and which could cause greater impact, to strengthen the security mechanisms in them. Imagine for a moment that there estimásemos necessary to implement these new control procedures beyond those established in the HACCP; any disgruntled employee, a member of our direct competitors or anyone with malicious intent, could cause irreparable damage to the image of our company, adulterating the food product, not with bioterrorism harmful elements that threaten the consumer but by small actions or controlled sabotage that could adversely affect our brand image (repeated damage in the packaging, adding physical products, broken seals, etc.) a new medium risk minimization always welcome to preserve the reputation of our brand the market.

Moreover, regarding the need for regulation in the EU's Food Defense, just imagine the economic impact it could have on the sector an attack on public health by intentional adulteration of any product with harmful agents biological, chemical or radioactive type ... the damage to the entire economy of the European Union would be unrecoverable for years, vetoed their food products in all world markets, losing the confidence of consumers towards European public administrations.

Furthermore, and specifically, the need for standards and certifications on Food IFS Defence becomes imperative for companies in the sector who wish to export their products to the USA.

Food Defense is a new challenge for our industry, recommending initiating procedures for comprehensive information search and requiring institutions for implementation of standardized systems and should be granted the utmost importance in our companies.

Models for the implementation of Food Defense Plans:

• http://uprm.edu/cita/iiaa/docs/Cuarto_Manual_defensa_de_alimentos.pdf 
• http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/bcab63f8-0ea8-410a-a9fd-3ae140c282e5/Guidance_Document_Warehouses_SP.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
• http://www.defensa.gob.es/congreso-veterinaria/pdf/comunicaciones/Aplicacion_Plan_de_Defensa_alimentaria_en_las_FAS.pdf

Food Defense Training:

• http://formacion.ainia.es/web/formacion/oferta-formativa?p_p_id=48_INSTANCE_Q3kW&_48_INSTANCE_Q3kW_iframe_uid=515117407A495B79C1257BEB004EAF3E&title=Curso-presencial-Madrid-Food-Defense-sistema-para-prevenir-actos-malintencionados-en-la-cadena-alimentaria