Food Protection Trends - July/August 2013 - (Page 218)

Food Protection Trends, Vol 33, No. 4, p. 218–223 PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE Copyright 2013, International Association for Food Protection 6200 Aurora Ave., Suite 200W, Des Moines, IA 50322-2864 © The development and Use of the Food and Agriculture Systems Criticality Assessment Tool (FASCAT) ANDREW G. HUFF,* AMY KIRCHER, JOHN HOFFMAN AND SHAUN P. KENNEDY National Center for Food protection and defense, University of Minnesota, 120 LES Building, 1954 Buford Ave., St. paul, MN 55108, USA ABSTRACT After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States (U.S.) government established a policy to identify critical infrastructure, including food and agriculture production systems, to protect them from terrorist attacks. Criticality is defined as the negative impact of an attack on or failure of a given infrastructure on the nation if it were compromised or destroyed. Food and agriculture systems were identified as one of 18 critical infrastructures. Identifying which food systems were the most critical to the nation was an enormous task, since the food and agriculture sector is almost entirely privately owned, is comprised of an estimated 2.1 million farms, has over 1 million production facilities, and accounts for roughly one-fifth of U.S. economic activity. To assist the Department of Homeland Security in determining which food systems were the most critical to the nation, the National Center for Food Protection and Defense developed the Food and Agriculture Systems Criticality Assessment Tool (FASCAT) to support states’ identification of critical systems. The FASCAT was used to document, evaluate, and compare 741 disparate complex food and agriculture systems across 39 states to determine their criticality. The objective of these assessments was to prioritize the allocation of threat mitigation resources to the most critical systems. Prior to the use of FASCAT, no food and agriculture systems were identified as critical in the U.S. Now, with the use of FASCAT, many food and agriculture systems have been added to the criticality list. This article discusses why the FASCAT was built, how it has evolved, and how the process currently works. *Author for correspondence: Phone: +1 612.626.6359; Fax: +1 612.624.3229; E-mail: Huff@umn.edu 218 FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS JULY–AUGUST 2013 http://www.foodprotection.org/files/food-protection-trends/Jul-Aug-13-huff.pdf

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - July/August 2013

Food Protection Trends - July/August 2013
Contents
Commentary
The Development and Use of the Food and Agriculture Systems Criticality Assessment Tool (FASCAT)
Evaluation of Process Control to Prevent Contamination of Beef With Non-O157 Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli (STEC) in U.S. Export Abattoirs in Honduras and Nicaragua
Food Safety Performance: Labeling and Indications of Allergens
Expectations and Applications of Natural Antimicrobials to Foods a Guidance Document for Users, Suppliers, Research and Development, and Regulatory Agencies
FSMA: Article 4
Research Spotlight
Beyond the Bio
Industry Products
PDG Highlight
Coming Events

Food Protection Trends - July/August 2013