Food supply protection

DEFINITION: Regulations, laws, and policies intended to prevent the intentional or unintentional contamination of the food supply chain, from agriculture through food processing to retail food sellers.

SIGNIFICANCE: Food and water supplies are components of a country’s critical infrastructure. In the United States, increasing shipments of food products across regions and importation of foods from other nations, large food-processing operations, and terrorism threats have highlighted the risks of food contamination and the critical importance of protecting the food supply.

The food supply in the United States is considered one of the best protected in the world. Federal, state, and local agencies use science-based principles to implement the requirements of food safety legislation that is designed to ensure the availability of wholesome and safe foods. At the national level, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) all regulate and enforce food safety regulations. These agencies inspect and monitor many points along the food supply chain, respond to food poisoning outbreaks, educate the public, coordinate American food standards with international ones, and work toward preventing and responding to bioterrorism threats. At the local level, individual state and town public health departments also play a role in food protection, regulating supermarkets and restaurants. These local agencies are usually among the first responders to food contamination cases.

American Food Safety

In the United States, widespread public concern about food safety dates back to the first decade of the twentieth century. In 1906, two federal laws were enacted to ensure the safety of food products: the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act. The adulteration of foods and drugs prior to that time had been rampant. In his 1906 novel The Jungle, Upton Sinclair exposed the unsanitary conditions of the Chicago meatpacking plants and provided the impetus that led to the passage of the first American food safety laws. For the first time, inspections were required before meat could be sold to the public, and the US Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Chemistry enforced food safety laws, penalizing those who did not comply.

Since 1906, many more food safety laws have been enacted to prevent harmful or toxic adulteration of foods in the United States. The various links in the food chain are overseen by different agencies. For example, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), a branch of the USDA, is responsible for protecting against plant and animal pests and diseases. Stringent food safety laws have become increasingly important as growth in food imports from other countries and shipment of foods across US regions have significantly increased the potential of some foods to be exposed to pathogens, pesticides, and chemical residues.

US Agencies and Programs

The Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network, known as FoodNet, was established in 1995. This collaborative effort among the CDC, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the FDA, and state health departments actively tracks reported food poisoning cases and identifies patterns among these cases. Across the United States, 450 laboratories work with FoodNet scientists to simplify this process and make reporting quicker and easier.

PulseNet, a branch of FoodNet, was also set up to identify pathogens. PulseNet scientists maintain an electronic database of the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) profiles of different infecting pathogens that can link particular pathogens to their sources. For example, Escherichia coli O157:H7 (a specific food-borne pathogen) in ground beef has a DNA fingerprint that is different from an E. coli O157:H7 pathogen in a different food source. After individual pathogen DNA fingerprints are identified, they are published on the Electronic Foodborne Outbreak Reporting System. By identifying the sources of food poisoning cases, health authorities can prevent widespread outbreaks, even if victims are located in different states or countries. When PulseNet identifies a contaminant as the source of a food poisoning outbreak, FoodNet notifies food manufacturers and distributors and issues a recall. The public is then notified through press releases. Doctors, toxicologists, and public health department workers in the affected geographic area begin to investigate to determine the precise source of the contamination.

In 2000, the FDA implemented a system of protocols for the food service industry known as Hazardous Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). The goal of HACCP is to analyze and monitor the entire production process of foods. During the production process, steps are implemented to reduce contamination as food goes from raw to finished state. HACCP also calls for the monitoring of farming procedures and animal feed to reduce food contamination risks. Farmers, ranchers, and the USDA regularly inspect feed and slaughter practices and the processing of any related food products. State and local public health officials inspect supermarkets and restaurants regularly to make sure that procedures are in place to decrease opportunities for the growth of food-borne pathogens; they examine the state of the water supply, facility cleanliness, storage and serving temperatures, and employee hand-washing procedures and training programs.

Following the terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon of September 11, 2001, the possibility of threats of bioterrorism became a focus of those charged with protecting the American food supply. The US Department of Homeland Security, EPA, FDA, USDA, Central Intelligence Agency, US Customs Service, and HHS have increasingly worked together to implement policies to protect the food supply. Identifying weak areas in agriculture and food distribution systems has become a key priority, and increased emphasis has been placed on protecting farm animals, the water supply, and food products before public distribution. In addition, these agencies have formulated emergency procedures to be followed in the event of an outbreak of disease caused by food contamination.

In 2005, the FSIS established the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) to handle widespread food emergencies rapidly. FERN comprises a network of state and federal laboratories that have committed their resources to the analysis of food samples in the event of any chemical, radiological, or biological terrorist attack in the United States. Despite these measures, in 2007 the science board of the FDA reported that the agency's Food Program was lacking in resources and capacity to keep up with the evolving challenges to the country's food supply. In response new initiatives were begun to strengthen investment in scientific research on preventing and containing food safety threats.

Since the mid-2000s, the USDA and its Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) have encouraged restaurants and other food service providers to adopt a food defense plan to guard against and respond to intentional acts of food tampering. The FSIS set a goal of 90 percent of US establishments to have a food defense plan in place by 2015. The FSIS announced that 85 percent had such a plan in 2016.

Bibliography

Balkin, Karen F., ed. Food-Borne Illnesses. San Diego: Greenhaven, 2004.

“Food Defense.” US Food and Drug Administration, 15 May 2024, www.fda.gov/food/food-defense. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.

“Functional Food Defense Plans.” Food Safety and Inspection Service, 2 Aug. 2018, www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/food-defense-and-emergency-response/food-defense/functional-food-defense-plans. Accessed 14 Aug. 2024.

National Center for Food Protection and Defense. Food Defense Education: Post 9/11. Minneapolis: Author, 2007. Print.

Pampel, Fred C. Threats to Food Safety. New York: Facts On File, 2006. Print.

Redman, Nina E. Food Safety. 2d ed. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2007. Print.

Roberts, Cynthia A. The Food Safety Information Handbook. Westport: Oryx, 2001. Print.