Food Protection Trends - July/August 2021 - 437

PDG HIGHLIGHT
The Food Defense Professional
Development Group
The Food Defense Professional Development Group
provides a forum for professionals to discuss the threats
posed by malicious, intentional contamination of the food
supply and ways to prevent, detect, or mitigate them. With
approximately 200 members, the PDG brings together
diverse disciplines including toxicology, microbiology,
engineering, process control, law enforcement, criminal
investigation, physical security, cybersecurity, risk assessment,
behavioral science, and others. As such, the members
of this PDG are producers, researchers, regulators, engineers,
and analysts representing industry, government, and
academia.
The Food Defense PDG shares the expertise of its
members through symposia and roundtables at the IAFP
Annual Meetings. Some of the past and upcoming sessions
the PDG has sponsored include:
* International Food Defense Preparation for FSMA
and Beyond
* One Size Does Not Fit All: Food Defense Planning for
FSMA Compliance
* Interdisciplinary Teams Protecting Nachos at a Concert Near
You - Food defense at large events (like the Super Bowl!)
* Are We Running with Two Food Safety Systems?
Transitioning Corporate Food Safety Plans to the
Operations Level
* When Crime Threatens Food Safety - Criminology as it
relates to food defense and food safety
Over the past several years, the Food Defense PDG has
been a tremendous resource for sharing information on the
implementation of the Intentional Adulteration (IA) Rule
of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The IA
Rule requires facilities to have a food defense plan as well
as comply with rules on training and record keeping. The
rule is rolling out in stages, with large businesses beginning
compliance in 2019 and small businesses in 2020. To assist
businesses in preparing for these new regulations, the PDG
has connected members to information and tools to help
them prepare food defense plans and has served as a place
for discussion where members can share experiences and
learn best practices in food defense. Because of the value this
provides, membership in the PDG has grown many times
over since the publication of the IA Rule.
Conveying to producers and other professionals the
importance of food defense is a constant challenge of the
Food Defense PDG. For future symposia, the PDG is
looking to partner with other PDGs to highlight the many
areas in which food defense is relevant and to draw parallels
to the issues faced daily by food and beverage professionals.
To get involved with the Food Defense PDG or to share
ideas for future symposia, contact the chair or vice chair.
Mark Kazmierczak, Chairperson
mark@gryphonscientific.com
Neal Fredrickson, Vice Chairperson
neal_fredrickson@cargill.com
July/August Food Protection Trends 437
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