By: David Miller
If you are not familiar with the term Food Defense, I’ll start by saying that it has nothing to do with batting away tomatoes during a food fight. Food Defense is actually a very serious initiative with dire consequences when not fully implemented. Food Defense is a term used to describe programs designed to protect food from intentional adulteration or tampering. Auditing bodies like BRC and AIB, entities like FDA, USDA, FBI and many others all have components to address Food Defense.
So, who would intentionally tamper with or adulterate food and why and how would they do it? Where would such tampering take place? The full answers to these questions are beyond the scope of this article, but I will get to some of them. I’ll start with where tampering might happen because that is how it connects to a Pest Control Technician.
Food Defense initiatives begin at farms, go through the production and distribution process and finally to wherever the food is sold or served. At any point along this process the raw goods, ingredients or finished products could be susceptible to harm. This could be purposefully introducing poisons, contaminants or any foreign substance that could make the food harmful. This tampering could lead to sickness or death of humans, pets or other animals. A Pest Control Technician serves many facilities along this process. While you will not find Food Defense as part of most Pest Control Scope of Services that doesn’t mean a Pest Control Technician can’t participate by utilizing their knowledge and familiarity to a facility.
So, who would intentionally tamper with the food? There is no single answer to this. Bored teenagers, a disgruntled current or former employee, a misguided competitor or an individual or group with hostilities to a particular food industry, company or even country. These and more are all people who may attempt to attack a food supply. They could be seeking publicity, financial harm to a company or individual, or even attempting to physically harm individuals who may come in contact with food that has been adulterated. This is a form of terrorism. This is why it is taken seriously by multiple organizations of government and within the food industry.
How does any of this relate to a PC technician serving food accounts? A PC Technician is in a unique position to know, understand and witness much of what happens at a food facility. Technicians know which accounts have had the same gate or entry codes for many years. They know which doors are never locked or can’t lock. They know which facilities have broken door card readers or keep doors propped or fully open all day. They have witnessed workers letting people in without showing credentials. These are all examples of vulnerabilities that could be exploited by a person wanting to do harm to food at a facility. If you, as a technician, know how to get into a facility at any time without anyone knowing then that is information others might know as well.
A PC Technician also knows how product and machinery normally look within a facility. They know what pest control damage versus forklift damage looks like. So, if something looks “off” it could be worth exploring to ensure there was not intentional damage done by someone.
All of this that I have brought up only scratches the surface of what is involved with a successful Food Defense plan. I just wanted to emphasize the contributions that can be made by a PC Technician.
So, what can a PC Technician do with information they know is concerning or creates a vulnerability at a facility? This is where I suggest a delicate approach. If you have a great relationship with your contact, you can start with a simple conversation about the current Food Defense plan at the facility. Who is in charge? What steps are being taken? Your contact may have nothing to do with Food Defense at the facility, or they may have complete oversight. They may gladly accept your information, direct you to a more appropriate person or tell you to stick to pests.
We do need to be somewhat mindful to “stay in our lanes” as we handle our business. However, I do believe there is some overlap in protecting food from pest activity and from intentional acts of tampering. I encourage you to familiarize yourselves with Food Defense Initiatives of FDA, USDA and other similar entities. We can help make our industry just a little safer.