Focused Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food Against Intentional Adulteration

Focused Mitigation Strategies To Protect Food

Against Intentional Adulteration
The intentional contamination of world food supplies is a considerable threat to humanity. How can you stop it?
By joining this symposiumgo you can learn exactly how.

Even small scale food-contamination can be detrimental, but vast campaigns to damage the global food supply
have already been deterred in some cases – in others, disastrous results have left huge sections of the
population without ample food and water, sick, and even caused death.

These are not fictitious concerns. As the Federation of American Scientists points out, mercury-tainted oranges
were found in the Netherlands, France, West Germany, Sweden, and the U.S. when oppressed Palestinian
workers from the self-titled Arab Revolutionary Army purposely contaminated them.

In another case, a terrorist farmer threatened to unleash Foot and Mouth Disease in Britain before he was
stopped, and yet another example can be seen in a major pastry producer whose entire supply of nut-free
goods were purposely contaminated with peanuts in order to weaken their brand.

In yet another outlandish example, a New Age cult in Oregon tried to infect salad bars in their local area with
Salmonella. 751 people became sick before the cult’s intentional food contamination plan was detected and
halted.

[1] Deliberate Contamination of Foods. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://fas.org/biosecurity/education/dualuse-

agriculture/1.-agroterrorism-and-foodsafety/deliberate-contamination-foods.html

[2] Jemberu, W. T., Mourits, M. C., & Hogeveen, H. (2015). Farmers’ Intentions to Implement Foot and Mouth
Disease Control Measures in Ethiopia. PLOS ONE, 10(9), e0138363. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0138363

[3] BOVSUN, M. (2013, June 15). 750 sickened in Oregon restaurants as cult known as the Rajneeshees
spread salmonella in town of The Dalles - NY Daily News. Retrieved from
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/justice-story/guru-poison-bioterrorrists-spread-salmonella-oregon-article-
1.1373864

These are just a few of the highly publicized instances of intentional food adulteration, among thousands that
happen around the world annually.

Aside from illness and death, food contamination can put a serious dent in the American economy as
agricultural exports amount to more than $140.5 billion a year.

Food and water is particularly vulnerable to attack because it is a necessary commodity to sustain life. Though
the U.S. FDA has implemented rules for imported food to keep it safe, food terrorism also happens on U.S. soil,
from within the country. It has increasingly becoming an issue in other countries around the world as well.

Coupled with weather challenges like drought, flooding, pestilence, and Earth changes, we simply cannot afford
to ignore food terrorism.

Food production companies and manufacturers must protect themselves against food adulteration attacks, in
whatever form they take, as they could be catastrophic. They can also be targets for disgruntled workers and
political groups with terrorist intent. Our symposiumgo led by Dr. John Ryan, a certified Preventive Controls
Qualified Individual (PQCI) specializing in food safety process control and food safety plan validation, will
discuss ways to mitigate possible risks, and to how to recover from purposeful food adulteration threats. We will
discuss:

 How to spot potential foes that may target a food company for nefarious action (you’re an easy target).
 How to close weak links in your food supply chain.
 Learn how to meet the FDA’s 2018 drafted compliance requirements for food protection.
 Learn how to go beyond the FDA’s guidelines to ensure food safety.
 How to assess vulnerabilities.

[4] Targets for Terrorism: Food and Agriculture. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/targets-terrorism-food-and-agriculture

[5] Agricultural Exports Finish Strong in FY 2017 | USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.fas.usda.gov/data/agricultural-exports-finish-strong-fy-2017

[6] Regulations.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FDA-2013-N-1425-0002

Reference Website: https://www.symposiumgo.com/blog/focused-mitigation-strategies-to-protect-food-

against-intentional-adulteration