Food securityNew Web-based tools help protect the food supply
Our economy, livelihood and wellbeing depend on food and its supply chains. Supply chains may break if a natural disaster destroys a crop in its primary production region, or if someone tampers with food to cause harm or raise profits. In such cases we need to find out quickly about these incidents and find alternative sources of food ingredients and supplies.
Our economy, livelihood and wellbeing depend on food and its supply chains. Supply chains may break if a natural disaster destroys a crop in its primary production region, or if someone tampers with food to cause harm or raise profits. In such cases we need to find out quickly about these incidents and find alternative sources of food ingredients and supplies.
“If something disastrous happens, like a public health emergency caused by the adulteration of a food product, consumer trust in the food supply will be damaged and the global supply chain will be disrupted,” said Matthew Coats, Deputy Director of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s (S&T) Office of University Programs. He is also Program Manager for the Food Protection and Defense Institute (FPDI). The FPDI is one of DHS S&T’s Centers of Excellence.
Determining the origins of a disruption is important not only for a company or a government, Coats explained. The disruption can also impact the overarching food and agriculture sector as a whole, leading to lack of food items in stores or people being afraid to buy certain items for fear of becoming sick or dying.
S&T notes that intentional adulteration is the deliberate tampering of food to either increase profits or cause harm to businesses or public health. Historically, accessing data regarding how intentional adulteration impacts food and supply chains has been limited due to the lack of centralized system and repository. Business owners and the government would spend countless hours and resources searching for relevant answers in order to address emergencies.
Fortunately, S&T provided funding to FPDI, to develop a solution. As a result, FPDI created two interactive, web-based databases with relevant up-to-date information focused on food adulteration cases and food supply chains. Anyone can access these databases through an annual paid service hosted on easy to use websites.
