Food Defense
Start Time: 2.20 p.m. London, 9.20 a.m. New York
Earl Arnold, Global Manager, QA Food Defense & FSMA, AIB International
Food Defense is a program we establish for our food facilities to prevent intentional adulteration of our products, protect consumers from harm, protect our assets from tampering, and protect our brand from hoaxes and other potential harm. If a facility is required to register with the FDA they must put together a Food Defense plan in accordance to 21 CFR 121 Mitigation Strategies to Protect Food from Adulteration regulation. This regulation requires facilities to conduct a vulnerability assessment on all processing steps, identify significant vulnerabilities, if found develop and apply mitigation strategies. If a facility follows a GFSI scheme such as SQF, IFS, BRC, or FSSC, you are required to develop a food defense plan. Some of these requirements are in line with the FDA regulatory requirements. It is important for you and your facility to develop a program that fits your needs and meets the regulatory, customer, and possibly GFSI requirements.
