Joint Effort to Protect Nation's Food and Agriculture Supply from Agroterrorism

Joint Effort to Protect Nation's Food and Agriculture Supply from Agroterrorism

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Health and Human Services' Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) last week announced a new collaboration with states and private industry to protect the nation's food supply from terrorist threats. Four pilot visits will be conducted in September and October. The purpose of these visits is to assess and identify vulnerabilities in the agriculture and food sectors. Over the next year, teams of federal and state officials will travel to all 50 states to meet with all sectors of the food chain. Together, the federal, state and private industry partners will discuss security issues from farm-to-table and consider ways to better protect our food supply. Additional information about agrosecurity can be found on USDA's Web site at www.usda.gov/homelandsecurity; the FDA Web site at www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/bioterrorism.html; and the DHS Web site at www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=43&content=3802.