FDA's Food Defense Plan Builder Prepares Food Facilities for Intentional Attacks

Owners and operators of food facilities are now able to prepare for intentional food contamination, thanks to new downloadable software directly from the U.S. FDA.¹ The Food Defense Plan Builder (FDPB) is designed to assist food facilities in developing a plan for maintaining safe working conditions and protecting the U.S. food supply. The user friendly platform within the FDPB software guides users through the process of creating an action plan. The tool also efficiently combines other previously released tools from the FDA such as food defense guidance documents, the Vulnerability Assessment Software Tool, and the Mitigation Strategies Database. The software also provides guidance needed to gather and maintain company documents as well as emergency contact lists. As of May 2013, the FDA has established Food Defense Awareness Workshops in select cities nationwide. These workshops are designed to further support and implement the use of the FDPB tool and are scheduled through November 2013. You can see a list of the remaining workshops here. While cases of sabotage, terrorism, or other illegal and intentionally harmful incidents involving biological or radiological contaminants are rare, the FDA encourages all food facilities to have a plan in place if an incident of intentional contamination occurs, and suggests all food facilities take advantage of the helpful planning resources found within the FDPB. References