Secure your plant

Sounds like a plan

Failing to plan is planning to fail in the event of an attack on the processing plant or product. A plan should begin with a food defense assessment, which will focus upon areas of concern in the plant and possible holes in the safety or security net. The plan also provides critical documentation for justifying capital or workforce expenditures and the establishment of new organizational divisions or structures. It also may provide guidelines and background for newly introduced operational measures.

Most importantly, the plan will provide the basis for emergency response preparedness.

Plan elements should include inside security, storage security, outside security, security at shipping and receiving points and security at critical operations areas, including processing, slaughter and all inspection areas. Clear outlines of contacts and recall procedures are critical.

Few plans will succeed without strong visible and vocal support from management.

Preventive measures should be outlined to reduce risk. Test the plan’s effectiveness in mock trials and brainstorming exercises.

Plans should focus on critical and vulnerable areas of the plant.

“Apply the highest security to the most critical components of your food operation,” advises Vitiello, who also suggests a “layered” approach consisting of physical, personnel and operational security measures.

Yud-Ren Chen, an agricultural engineer with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, is developing a computer-directed scanning system that may speed inspection of the nearly 8 billion chickens processed annually through federally inspected U.S. plants.

Tyson Foods, which is now North America’s largest food company, according to Food Processing’s 2005 Top 100© report, has ratcheted plant security up several notches to protect product, customers and plant personnel. “Our biggest concern is food safety,” says John Tyson, chairman and CEO. “It impacts the consumer. It impacts consumer confidence. It impacts the strength of the brand.”

“We have added entry security measures, issuing badges and seeing that only specific people are admitted into certain places,” notes complex manager Irvin. “We have added guards, as well. And we continue to upgrade our security measures all the time.”

External security measures came in several phases at Tyson. They included the addition of fences, cameras, motion detection devices and guarded doors.

FSIS encourages plants to post “no trespassing” signs, to monitor the plant perimeter for suspicious activity and unauthorized entry and to introduce guards, alarms, cameras and other appropriate security hardware at all access points. Emergency exits should have alarms and self-locking doors that can be opened only from the inside. Carefully monitor and document personnel entering and leaving the plant. (See FSIS Security Guidelines for Food Processors for an extensive list of outside security measures.)

Inside security measures include marking and securing restricted areas, limiting access to labs and restricting access to central airflow, water, electricity and gas controls. Emergency alert systems should be operational at all times and all employees instructed in their use. Computer systems must have effective password, virus and firewall protection. (See FSIS Security Guidelines for Food Processors for an extensive list of inside security measures.)

Airflow systems should be designed so that contaminated rooms or areas can be isolated easily.

Process security and sanitation

At the core of every food security defense system should be a sound food safety program. HACCP programs provides a strong framework, helping to identify high-risk zones that merit extra watch and protective measures. But equally important, HACCP calls for practices that may help detect or prevent contamination and documentation that will help trace times and sources of product contamination and track down tainted product.

Processors of animal protein face multiple levels of safety concerns. Tyson, as the nation’s largest protein processor, employs more HACCP-trained individuals than any company in the world. It has added a state-of-the-art quality assurance lab.

To provide an overlapping layer to its safety program, however, Tyson initiated the Sentinel Site Program, an environmental monitoring and product testing program that provides early warning alerts and allows plant personnel to prevent and eliminate listeria monocytogenes in Tyson facilities that produce ready-to-eat products. In effect, it monitors and validates the company’s HACCP system with overlapping checking measures.