Writing Your Own Food Defense Plan

Step three in developing a food defense plan

Facilities Currently Required to Participate

in Food Defense All vendors providing processed

foods to USDA federal feeding programs must be in compliance with the Food Defense System.

What do I Need to Write a Food Defense Plan?

Vulnerability assessment Map of facility Operational documents

HACCP plan SOP or GMP BQA or PQA plans

Who Will Be Responsible?

Designate a food defense coordinator to develop, implement and maintain the Food Defense Plan

Courtesy of Food Technology magazine, from "Defending the Food Supply," August 2005, Vol. 59, No.8.  Food Technology is a publication of the Institute of Food Technologists, www.ift.org.

Write the plan

Describe each vulnerability specifically.

Decide if the vulnerability is practical to address.

Determine a countermeasure.

Write the plan (continued) Decide who will be responsible to

implement the countermeasure. Choose a reasonable timeline for

implementation. Initial and date plan when

implementation of countermeasure is completed.

Managing the plan

Review and revise the plan to accommodate new and newly elevated risks

Train the employees regarding their effort in:

Prevention

Detection

Response

Test the countermeasures after implementation

Make unannounced entrances at various checkpoints

Check locks in vulnerable areas

Perform a mock recall

Test inventory procedures

Managing the plan (continued)

Managing the plan (continued)

Re-evaluate the plan annually or as products, processes or facilities change.

Copies of the plan should be kept on-site and off-site.