Protecting Food from Terrorism a Delicate Balance

Newswise — Protecting the nation's food supply against terrorist attacks is a delicate balancing act between providing critical information to people who need it while not giving a roadmap to potential terrorists. This according to Robert Buchanan, senior science advisor with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration presenting at the Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting here.

Buchanan noted that when he reviews government Internet documents about potential food terrorism he typically removes only a couple of sentences—whichever may provide key details that could be dangerous in the wrong hands.

However, letting people know about general steps being taken to protect the food supply could daunt terrorists and make "food a less attractive target," said Frank Busta, former IFT President and current director of the National Center for Food Defense and Protection.

Food is a huge potential target; a $1 trillion industry that provides 22 percent of all jobs in the United States.

"Even a small event would generate a high shock value because food holds a unique place in our psyche," Buchanan says. "It's the underpinning of the family, and the things we hold near and dear."

And unlike many cases of terrorism, food can be disrupted or contaminated without "weaponizing" or sophisticated knowledge, Buchanan says.

It's believed a relatively small number of contaminants could be used to poison food, because they'd likely prove ineffectual if they altered the flavor or smell. They would need also to survive food processing techniques.

"If an agent smells really bad, it's pretty hard to use it in a food," Buchanan noted. However, "I was amazed by how many of these agents are available over the Internet," said Buchanan. "Anyone can just go to a web site and order them."

The FDA has performed a threat assessment on such key foods as infant formula, baby food, milk, yogurt, ice cream, and soft drinks. The agency has also commissioned IFT to conduct similar assessments of the same foods without looking at the FDA's data.

"The results were amazing close, which was encouraging" that the agency was taking the proper steps to safeguard the food supply, Buchanan says.

From these studies, the FDA has determined the characteristics of foods at highest risk.

The IFT Annual Meeting + Food Expo®, running now through July 20, is the world's single largest annual scientific meeting and technical exposition of its kind. Rated among the largest shows in America*, the meeting delivers comprehensive, cutting-edge research and opinion from food science-, technology-, marketing- and business-leaders.

More information on each conference is available online at http://www.am-fe.ift.org.

* According to Tradeshow Week® 200 magazine.

Founded in 1939, and with world headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, USA, the Institute of Food Technologists is a not-for-profit international scientific society with 26,000 members working in food science, technology and related professions in industry, academia and government. As the society for food science and technology, IFT brings sound science to the public discussion of food issues. For more on IFT, see www.ift.org.