Food defense vs. food safety, are they the same?

When it comes to shielding your company and its customers from both external and internal threats, besides food safety hazard analysis, food defense is an essential component to have. It covers a wide variety of potential threats, from pranks including tampering, which are rather prevalent, to terrorist attacks, which are less likely. If you search the internet for “product tampering” or “product tampering employee,” you will find several cases to show that the risk is REAL. The risks associated with the supply chain and manufacturing can frequently be reduced by taking preventative measures. Putting a locking cover on a vat, for instance, can prevent a wide variety of purposeful assaults that might otherwise be committed.

Food Defense Programs need to be designed in order to safeguard your clients from both internal and external threats. This will allow the risks to be reduced significantly. Food Defense is addressed in ISO 22000/TS 22002-1 requirements and in one of the paragraphs of the FSSC 22000 Additional Requirements. The FSSC Additional Standards are aligned with GFSI requirements and elevated to the level of the management system, which incorporates it into the management responsibility process.

Food Defense Program vs. Food Safety Plan

Food defense is the protection of food products from intentional contamination or adulteration by biological, chemical, physical, or radiological agents introduced for the purpose of causing harm.

On the other side, the safety of food can be jeopardized as a result of ignorance, mistakes, or just not according to the procedures. This was unintended contamination.

Food Defense Program

A food defense program’s objectives are to prevent foods from being purposefully tampered with and to reduce the severity of the damage that would be caused by an attack on the food system. The threats that need to be addressed in order to ensure both the safety of food and its defense are the same. (Biological, Chemical, Physical, and Radiological)

Food Safety Plan

Raw materials, packaging, machinery, workers, and the surrounding environment all pose potential hazards to the safety of the food being processed and distributed to customers. Using the HACCP method, which consists of 12 steps, these hazards are identified and eliminated. One tool for mitigating these risks is a food safety plan. To ensure that control points are effective in mitigating the hazards outlined in the Food Safety Plan, these measures must be checked and confirmed at regular intervals.

FSSC 22000 Scheme Requirements on Food Defense

FSSC 22000 scheme requirements on food defense is defined in clause 2.5.3 Food Defense.

Clause 2.5.3.1 Threat assessment

The organization shall have a documented procedure in place to:

1. Conduct a threat assessment to identify and assess potential threats.
2. Develop and implement mitigation measures for significant threats.

Clause 2.5.3.2 Plan

1. The organization shall have a documented food defense plan specifying the mitigation measures covering the processes and products within the Food Safety Management System scope of the organization.
2. The food defense plan shall be supported by the organization’s Food Safety Management System.
3. The plan shall comply with applicable legislation and be reviewed regularly.

How to Implement a Food Defense Program

To implement the food defense program required by the ISO 22000 and FSSC 22000, here is a quick guidance on what you need to do:

Step #1. Establish a Food Defense team

Step #2. Conduct a Threat Assessment (e.g., TACCP), identify and evaluate potential threats and vulnerabilities.

Step #3. Identify and select proportionate control measures.

Step #4. Document the threat assessment, control measures, verification and incident management procedures in a Food Defense Plan supported by the Food Safety Management System.

Step #5. Develop an effective training and communication strategy and implement the Food Defense Plan.

In essence, a Food Defense approach tries to answer the following key questions:

• Who might want to attack us?
• How might they do it?
• What is the potential public health impact?
• How can we prevent this from happening?

When developing a strategy for food defense, it is necessary to determine the level of significance posed by each of the potential dangers listed. It’s possible to make use of a risk matrix that’s analogous to HACCP (e.g., likelihood of occurrence multiplied by impact or consequence). As additional indicators, other characteristics such as accessibility, likelihood of detection, and recognizability could be used.

Threats can arise at any stage of the supply chain, so it’s important to have a plan in place for dealing with them. Companies can protect themselves from outside risks with the use of good supply chain management, audits, and quality assurance analyses.

Threat mitigation measures may vary depending on the company and the way it manages its materials in the supply chain, but there are a few common practices that may be implemented by every business.

Physical Security Measures

These help in product security by restricting who can enter the facility or purchase the product.

• Make sure the building’s perimeter is secure and check it often.
• Control who and what can enter your factory and parking lot using biometric or other identification methods.
• Set up an alarm system, cameras, and adequate illumination Keep unauthorized people out of production areas, and designate specific zones for authorized workers.
• Restrict access to key infrastructure
• Pack items in a way that makes them obvious if they have been opened or tampered with. Keep track of keys and locks for all doors and windows.

People Security Measures

This helps lessen the risks posed by individuals.

• Make use of a method to classify workers according to the tasks they perform.
• Everyone who will be involved in a sensitive operation should be subject to a thorough background check.
• Educate workers on food safety and security measures, such as how to spot suspicious actions and people.

Ensure Traceability

This helps keep the situation under control if the threats actually materialize.

• Keep records that will enable for simple product and material tracing.
• Put in place a strategy for keeping track of stock.

Conclusion

The effectiveness of protecting yourselves is largely depending on people. These may be external (e.g., suppliers) or internal (your own associates). Therefore, a training and/or communication program is essential.

Food safety and food security are two separate concerns that require careful management. The purpose of a Food Safety Plan is to prevent a system failure, while the purpose of a Food Defense Plan is to prevent an attack on the system. Both must be managed to guarantee that the food leaving your facility is fit for its intended purpose.

Reference/Source:

1. Food Safety System Certification 22000 Guidance Document: Food Defense.
2. http://foodsafetyworks.com/insights/food-defense/

To learn more about food defense concepts, food safety plan and to identify vulnerable points in your food production