Food defense continues to be a vital component of a Food Protection Plan for the industry. The Food Safety Modernization Act, as well as other regulations, audit programs (including GFSI), and customer requirements are driving the need for food facilities to develop solid Food Defense Programs to limit the concern for intentional contamination. Due to the growing demand, food defense and security professionals are looking for ways to further advance their education and train others to manage these programs at the facility level.
AIB’s Food Defense Practitioner course develops investigation skills in food defense professionals to prepare them in the event of intentional food tampering incidents or other crisis management issues. Advanced food defense topics such as bomb threats and cyber security will also be discussed. The course will be presented by seasoned food defense professionals and includes interactive discussions and workshops.
Learning objectives:
- Acquire the advanced tools for conducting the initial phases of an investigation where intentional tampering or a security related event has occurred.
- Conduct interviews of persons associated with or having knowledge of suspected tampering events.
- Collect and properly handle evidence from a suspected tampering event.
- Develop and implement programs to handle security events such as bomb threats, suspicious mail, workplace violence threats, threats of sabotage, etc.
- Recognize what is required of food defense in the Food Safety Modernization Act.
- Evaluate programs to ensure chemicals in and around the facility are properly secured or managed to limit possible misuse or theft.
- Recognize crisis situations and prepare a response plan for various crisis events.
- Recognize information technology issues and how to involve the IT department in the Food Defense Team and programs.