| Script:
Food Defense - What Does it Mean to You? |
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Intro:
Welcome to USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service podcast. Each episode
will bring you cutting edge news and information about how FSIS is working to ensure public
health protection through food safety. While we’re on the job, you can rest assured that
your meat, poultry, and processed egg products are safe, wholesome, properly labeled,
and packaged correctly. So turn up your volume and listen in.
Host:
Hello, I’m with the FSIS Office of Food Defense and Emergency Response.
As a small or very small plant owner or operator you have a lot to think about.
When you think of FSIS you mainly think of our role in providing regulatory direction
for food safety. Have you ever thought about how FSIS can help you protect your facility
and your product against a potential incident or deliberate contamination which is just
as important?
Why? Because your reputation and the health and safety of your customers depends on it.
That affects your bottom line and your livelihood.
The best and easiest way to ensure that you are protected is to develop a food defense
plan. A food defense plan helps identify steps that can be taken to minimize the risk
that food products in an establishment will be tampered with or intentionally contaminated.
FSIS has developed some guidance for companies to create food defense plans that meet
their own needs. An abbreviated version of this guidance provides industry with an easy,
three-step process to complete a plan.
A plant owner simply needs to go our website at www.fsis.usda.gov.
Under Browse by Subject, clicking on Food Defense & Emergency Response will take you to
the page that provides this resource. It’s particularly useful for small and very small
plants.
It’s important to remember that there is no “one size fits all” to creating a food defense
plan. FSIS recommends reviewing this guidance and assessing which preventive measures
are suitable for a given operation. Plants are advised to determine the most cost-effective
way to achieve food defense goals based on their own situation.
Remember, your success as a business may one day depend on your preparation and response
to an unexpected incident. According to Dr. Carol Maczka, Assistant Administrator for
FSIS’ Office of Food Defense and Emergency Response, “the business advantage in having
a food defense plan is that it further protects consumer health, provides additional process
control of a plant’s products, and protects a company’s bottom line.”
Why is food defense important to you? It’s about protecting your customers, your employees,
and your business.
Outro:
Well, that’s all for this episode. We’d like your feedback on our podcast. Or if you
have ideas for future podcasts, send us an e-mail at podcast@fsis.usda.gov. To learn more
about food safety, try our web site at www.fsis.usda.gov.
Thanks for tuning in.
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