FDA Workshop to Address Food Defense

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a November 7-8, 2012, public workshop at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater “to provide information about food defense as it relates to food facilities such as farms, manufacturers, processors, distributors, retailers and restaurants.” Intended to help businesses better comply with the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness Act of 2002, the workshop will cover the following topics: (i) “Food defense awareness and definitions”; (ii) “FDA food defense tools such as ALERT and Employees FIRST”; (iii) “Regulations mandated by the Bioterrorism Act”; (iv) “Food Defense Guidance from the Food Safety and Inspection Service”; (v) “Investigating food-related incidents effectively”; (vi) “Physical plant security”; and (vii) “Crisis management.” FDA has asked interested parties to register by October 31, 2012. See Federal Register, September 27, 2012.