There is no way to guarantee the safety of U.S. food and agricultural products, and confusion within governmental agencies may slow down response time should supply chains be attacked, said one expert.
“I think there’s a perception out there that we should be able to say ‘this agency is responsible at all times for the safety and security for our food and agriculture system.’ [But] that simply is not the case,” Dave Filson, emergency preparedness and response coordinator for the Penn State Cooperative Extension, said at a Capitol Hill briefing. “Our ability to ensure with zero risk that our food and agricultural system is absolutely, positively protected is something we cannot do.”
He pointed to last year’s outbreak of E. coli, which killed three people and sickened hundreds. The bacteria were traced back to spinach grown in California and sold with little processing. That risk was contained quickly, he said, but what would happen if the nation’s food or agricultural system were deliberately tampered with?
Although there is a substantial response plan in place, Filson said that communication among agencies could always be better. In the event of a food emergency, agencies on the local, state and federal level could potentially be involved, from the county emergency management agencies to the Department of Homeland Security. There is a high potential for confusion between agencies as the response changes from detection and prevention to response and recovery, he added.
“As we move through incidents, the responsible agency is going to change depending on whether we’re doing preparation and preparedness or whether we’re in a response mode.”
It would be easy for one agency to become confused about its role as the emergency evolves.
The food supply in the United States is safe for the most part, Filson stressed. Most facilities have quality control standards in place and do regular testing of their products. Although there have been several high-profile food contamination issues recently, Americans should take them as positive signs of improvement, he said.
“I think our food supply is being scrutinized to a greater degree than what it has in the past and science has allowed us to detect to a greater level many of the things that may have slipped through the cracks years ago.”
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