Terrorist Threats to Food

Terrorist Threats to Food

Author: World Health Organization. Food Safety Department

Publisher: World Health Organization

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 56

ISBN-13: 9789241545846

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While only a few cases of intentional contamination of food have been proven, the risk of possible terrorist threats to food should be given serious consideration by public health authorities and the food industry.This document examines means of establishing basic prevention, surveillance and response capacities. Because both unintentionally and deliberately caused outbreaks of foodborne disease may be managed by many of the same mechanisms, the WHO recommendations concentrate on working with national governments on integrating terrorism prevention and response measures into existing national food safety and disease surveillance programmes.Preventive measures by governments and the food industry are discussed. Industry involvement is encouraged from the outset, as the food industry possesses the primary means and greatest ability to minimize food-related risks. Existing food safety management programmes can be enhanced, WHO says, while putting in place appropriate security measures to protect food production and distribution systems. The document provides suggestions for specific measures for consideration by industry.The document provides guidance on strengthening existing communicable disease control systems to ensure that surveillance systems are sufficiently sensitive to meet the threat of any food safety emergency.The guidance document emphasizes the need to strengthen existing emergency alert and response systems by improving links with all relevant agencies and with the food industry. Many developed and most developing countries are not yet adequately prepared to deal with a large-scale food safety emergency. All countries should undertake preparedness and response planning to be able to cope with food safety emergencies regardless of their cause. In this regard, the services of various technical programmes of WHO as well as other organizations that may be of assistance to countries in addressing this newly emerging public health concern are also described in the document.Experts from national agencies in Australia, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Russia, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States of America, and from organizations including the European Commission, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Industry Council for Development contributed to the development of the document.


Enhancing Food Safety

Enhancing Food Safety

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2010-11-04

Total Pages: 589

ISBN-13: 0309163587

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Recent outbreaks of illnesses traced to contaminated sprouts and lettuce illustrate the holes that exist in the system for monitoring problems and preventing foodborne diseases. Although it is not solely responsible for ensuring the safety of the nation's food supply, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees monitoring and intervention for 80 percent of the food supply. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's abilities to discover potential threats to food safety and prevent outbreaks of foodborne illness are hampered by impediments to efficient use of its limited resources and a piecemeal approach to gathering and using information on risks. Enhancing Food Safety: The Role of the Food and Drug Administration, a new book from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, responds to a congressional request for recommendations on how to close gaps in FDA's food safety systems. Enhancing Food Safety begins with a brief review of the Food Protection Plan (FPP), FDA's food safety philosophy developed in 2007. The lack of sufficient detail and specific strategies in the FPP renders it ineffectual. The book stresses the need for FPP to evolve and be supported by the type of strategic planning described in these pages. It also explores the development and implementation of a stronger, more effective food safety system built on a risk-based approach to food safety management. Conclusions and recommendations include adopting a risk-based decision-making approach to food safety; creating a data surveillance and research infrastructure; integrating federal, state, and local government food safety programs; enhancing efficiency of inspections; and more. Although food safety is the responsibility of everyone, from producers to consumers, the FDA and other regulatory agencies have an essential role. In many instances, the FDA must carry out this responsibility against a backdrop of multiple stakeholder interests, inadequate resources, and competing priorities. Of interest to the food production industry, consumer advocacy groups, health care professionals, and others, Enhancing Food Safety provides the FDA and Congress with a course of action that will enable the agency to become more efficient and effective in carrying out its food safety mission in a rapidly changing world.


Sustainable Food Processing

Sustainable Food Processing

Author: Brijesh K. Tiwari

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2013-10-14

Total Pages: 621

ISBN-13: 1118634373

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Sustainable Food Processing Food processors face numerous challenges from ever-changing economic, social and environmental conditions. With global inequalities increasing, ingredient costs climbing, and global climate change becoming a major political issue, food producers must now address environmental concerns, social responsibility and economic viability when shaping their food processing techniques for the future. Food production, preservation and distribution contribute to greenhouse gas emissions from the agri-food sector, therefore food producers require detailed, industrially relevant information that addresses these challenges. The food industry, as one of the world’s largest users of energy, must embrace new ways of meeting the needs of the present without compromising future viability. It is important that the industry does not merely focus on simple indicators of sustainability that are relatively easy to calculate and hold appeal for governments and the public, but which do not properly address the many dimensions of sustainability. This book provides a comprehensive overview of both economic sustainability and the environmental concerns that relate to food processing. It is divided into four sections. Part one deals with principles and assessment of sustainability in the context of food processing; Part two summarises sustainability in various food processing applications within the food industry; Part three considers sustainability in food manufacturing operations that are vital in food production systems; and Part four addresses sustainable food distribution and consumption. As the most comprehensive reference book for industry to date, this book will provide engineers, educators, researchers, policy makers and scientists working in the food industry with a valuable resource for their work.


Building the Future of Food Safety Technology

Building the Future of Food Safety Technology

Author: Darin Detwiler

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2020-06-16

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 0128189533

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Building the Future of Food Safety Technology: Blockchain and Beyond focuses on evaluating, developing, testing and predicting Blockchain's impact on the food industry, the types of regulatory compliance needed, and other topics important pertaining to consumers. Blockchain is a technology that can be used to record transactions from multiple entities across a complex network. A record on a blockchain cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all preceding blocks and the consensus of the network. Blockchain is often associated with cryptocurrency, but it is being looked at more and more as a solution to food-supply problems. - Presents the latest information on Blockchain's impact in the food industry - Bridges food technology and food safety - Provides guidance and expert insights on the food supply chain


Public Health Response to Biological and Chemical Weapons

Public Health Response to Biological and Chemical Weapons

Author: World Health Organization

Publisher: World Health Organization

Published: 2004-01-21

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 9241546158

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This is the second edition of this publication which focuses on the public health aspects of the possible deliberate use of biological or chemical agents. Issues discussed include: the key principles for public health planning, risk assessment, hazard identification and evaluation, risk management strategies, and response planning as part of existing national emergency plans, disease surveillance and early warning systems, the national and international legal framework, and international sources of assistance. Technical annexes cover a range of issues including chemical agents, toxins, biological agents, principles of protection, precautions against the sabotage of drinking water, food and other products, information resources and the affiliation of WHO Member States to the international treaties on biological and chemical weapons.


Regional Risk and Security in Japan

Regional Risk and Security in Japan

Author: Glenn D. Hook

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-05-20

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 1317584856

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Japan’s unusual position in the realm of international politics encapsulates a three-fold juxtaposition: both in and out of Asia, both occupied by and a close ally of the United States, and both a key trade partner and a strategic rival of China. Whilst international relations theory offers a number of ways to analyse these relations, this book instead utilizes the concept of risk to provide an innovative perspective on Japan’s relations with China, North Korea and the US. The book elucidates how risk, potential harm and harm are faced disproportionately by certain groups in society. This is demonstrated by providing an empirically rich analysis of the domestic implications of security relations with China, North Korea and the United States through the presence of US troops in Okinawa. Beginning with a theoretical discussion of risk, it goes on to demonstrate how the concept of risk adds value to the study of international relations in three senses. First, the concept helps to break down the boundaries between the international and domestic. Second, the focus on risk and the everyday directs us to ask basic questions about the costs and benefits of a security policy meant to secure the national population. Third, what implications do these two points have for governance? The question is one of governance as Japan’s externally oriented security policy produces domestic insecurity shared disproportionately, not equally, as this volume makes clear. Developing the theory of risk as a tool for understanding international relations, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Asian politics, Japanese politics, international relations and security studies, as well as to policy makers and practitioners working in the field.


Applied Social Sciences

Applied Social Sciences

Author: Gheorghe Clitan

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2014-08-11

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 1443865486

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This book, Applied Social Sciences: Communication Studies, is a collection of essays specific to the field of Verbal and Non-verbal Communication. It contains essays on the role of communication in the academic library (interculturality), IT (collaborative web, digitalisation), literary fiction (folktale, Romanian drama), management (conflict management, election campaign discourse, public relations, terrorism risk), marketing (advertising, brand, cultural events), mass-media (censorship, glossies, image fabrication, journalistic approach, manipulation, media events, metaphorisation of discourse, news, public opinion, public space, television), organisations (cyberspace), and sports (volleyball). This book will appeal to professionals working in the fields of community college teaching, corporate communications, entertainment, human resources, journalism, management, marketing, media literacy, media management and media criticism, non-profit work, PhD work in communication, public relations, strategic planning, and training and consulting. The types of academic readership it will appeal to include: researchers, students, teacher trainers, and teachers of all subjects and of all levels, who want to develop personally and professionally.


Food Microbiology

Food Microbiology

Author: Michael P. Doyle

Publisher: American Society for Microbiology Press

Published: 2012-12-28

Total Pages: 2226

ISBN-13: 1555816266

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This essential reference emphasizes the molecular and mechanistic aspects of food microbiology in one comprehensive volume. • Addresses the field's major concerns, including spoilage, pathogenic bacteria, mycotoxigenic molds, viruses, prions, parasites, preservation methods, fermentation, beneficial microorganisms, and food safety. • Details the latest scientific knowledge and concerns of food microbiology • Offers a description of the latest and most advanced techniques for detecting, analyzing, tracking, and controlling microbiological hazards in food. • Serves as significant reference book for professionals who conduct research, teach food microbiology courses, analyze food samples, conduct epidemiologic investigations, and craft food safety policies.


Addressing Foodborne Threats to Health

Addressing Foodborne Threats to Health

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2006-10-18

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0309100437

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In December 2004, at a press conference called to announce his departure as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Tommy Thompson raised both concern and controversy when he remarked that he could not understand why the terrorists had not yet attacked our food supply "because it is so easy to do." Although to date the United States has been spared such a disaster, the many documented examples of unintentional outbreaks of foodborne disease-some of which have sickened hundreds of thousands of people, and killed hundreds-provide a grim basis for estimating the impact of deliberate food adulteration. Due to the wide variety of potential chemical and biological agents that could be introduced at many vulnerable points along the food supply continuum, contaminating food is considered an especially simple, yet effective, means to threaten large populations. To explore the nature and extent of such threats, possibilities for reducing their impact, and obstacles to this goal, the Forum on Microbial Threats of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) convened the workshop Foodborne Threats to Health: The Policies and Practice of Surveillance, Prevention, Outbreak Investigations, and International Coordination on October 25 and 26, 2005. Workshop participants discussed the threat spectrum and burden of disease associated with foodborne illness and the role that increasing globalization of food production and distribution plays in the transmission of foodborne disease. Participants also reviewed existing research, policies, and practices concerning foodborne threats in order to identify unmet needs, challenges, and opportunities for improving food safety systems, surveillance, and emergency response. Although this workshop summary provides an account of the individual presentations, it also reflects an important aspect of the Forum philosophy. The workshop functions as a dialogue among representatives from different sectors and presents their beliefs on which areas may merit further attention. However, the reader should be aware that the material presented here expresses the views and opinions of the individuals participating in the workshop and not the deliberations of a formally constituted IOM study committee. These proceedings summarize only what participants stated in the workshop and are not intended to be an exhaustive exploration of the subject matter or a representation of consensus evaluation.