Assessing the implementation of food defense requirements in industrial meat-based food processors

Praia, Elisabete Filipa; Henriques, Ana Rita

doi:10.1590/1981-6723.20120

Elisabete Filipa Praia

Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Departamento de Produção Animal e Segurança Alimentar, Lisboa, Portugal.

Ana Rita Henriques ^**Corresponding Author: Ana Rita Henriques, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Departamento de Produção Animal e Segurança Alimentar, Av. da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477, Lisboa - Portugal, e-mail: anaritah@fmv.ulisboa.pt

Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Departamento de Produção Animal e Segurança Alimentar, Lisboa, Portugal.

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9098-4389

*Corresponding Author: Ana Rita Henriques, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Departamento de Produção Animal e Segurança Alimentar, Av. da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477, Lisboa - Portugal, e-mail: anaritah@fmv.ulisboa.pt

Tables (9)

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Table 1
Characterization of audited meat-based food producing industries.

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Table 2
Industries overall and sector scores in the food defense requirements audit.

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Table 3
Audit scores in the “External security” group of requirements in both industries.

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Table 4
Audit scores of the “Internal security” group of requirements in both industries.

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Table 5
Audit scores of the “Personnel security” group of requirements in both industries.

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Table 6
Audit scores of the “General requirements” group in both industries.

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Table 7
Compliance proportion of food defense requirements in industries (n=38) certified by the IFS standard (International Featured Standards, 2014International Featured Standards – IFS. (2014). Standard for auditing quality and food safety of food products, Version 6. Berlin, Germany: IFS Management GmbH.).

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Table 8
Compliance proportion of food defense requirements in certified industries (n=6) by the FSSC 22000 standard (Foundation Food Safety System Certification 22000, 2019).

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Sections Sub-sections and questions Score External security External Perimeter: Is the facility’s external perimeter secured with a fence/wall? Is a routine inspection to the perimeter performed periodically to check for damage and necessary repairs? Is the facility perimeter well-lit during dark hours? Building and structure: Are the facility’s buildings constructed of materials able to resist intruders’ unlawful entry? Are the ceilings, walls, doors, windows and pavement appropriately proofed? Can doors and windows be opened exclusively from the inside? Do doors and windows have trigger alarms if opened from the outside? Do emergency doors sound alarms if opened from the outside? Are there periodical meetings with security personnel to assess security alarms/alerts and improve security? Access control: Are vehicles controlled and supervised inside the facilities? Are employees’ vehicles easily identified? In the case of access to the inside perimeter, are there restrictions to visitor’s vehicles parking (near cargo handling and storage areas)? Are all the premise’s entries and exits clearly identified? Are all visitor/contractor entries recorded (listing name, reason for visit, time of arrival and departure)? Are these records kept for at least 30 days? Are all visitors/contractors adequately identified while inside the facilities? Are all visitors/contractors escorted while inside the facilities? Are only authorized persons allowed in critical areas? Is there access control regarding employees and visitors/contractors in processing, packaging and final product areas? Shipping and dispatching: Are drivers identified in all deliveries and records kept? Are all deliveries (raw materials, packaging, subsidiary materials) notified? Are delivered materials inspected prior to use? In case of non-conforming deliveries, are suppliers notified? Is there a written procedure on how to handle unexpected deliveries of raw materials/packaging/subsidiary materials? Is there a designated employee in charge of supervising all deliveries/shippings? Are these activities recorded? Are records kept for at least 30 days? 27 Internal security Raw materials storage: Are there specific areas for raw materials storage? Are those areas identified? Is the access to those areas restricted? Is there a record for access control to these critical areas? Are there regular audits of these critical areas? Are there written evidences of those audits? Subsidiary materials/chemical storage: Are there specific storage areas for these materials? Are those areas identified? Is the access to those areas restricted? Is there a record for access control to these critical areas? Are there regular audits to these critical areas? Are there written evidences of those audits? Final products storage: Are there specific areas for final products storage? Are those areas identified? Is access to those areas restricted? Is there a record for access control to these critical areas? Are there regular audits to these critical areas? Are there written evidences of those audits? Returned/withdrawn/suspicious products: Are there specific storage areas for these materials? Are those areas identified? Is access to those areas restricted? Are records kept about the destination given to those products? Is there a written procedure for handling of suspicious raw materials/ final products? Access control: Is there any kind of alarm inside the facilities? Is there any kind of access control to critical areas (keys/card/biometric system)? Are employees aware of the need to report lost keys/access cards to security personnel? Is there a list of authorized staff for critical areas? Do security personnel have access to this list? Are critical areas properly identified? Is there emergency lighting inside the facilities? Is there access to ventilation/air conditioning, water storage and electric power controlled? When a potential threat is detected, is it immediately investigated and recorded by security personnel? 32 Personnel security Employee’s hiring: Is there a written procedure to conduct a background (criminal record) check before hiring a new employee/ temporary worker? Are employees, visitors/contractors given a written document with critical areas identification and access restriction? Are all employees and temporary workers properly identified within the facilities? Training: Are employees trained before starting their functions? Are employees trained in food defense? Does training focuses on security threats? Does training include the need to immediately report the loss of keys/cards? Does training focuses on tampering detection in raw materials/final products? Personnel behavior: Is staff wearing appropriate uniforms? Is it possible to differentiate employees from different departments by their uniform? Is the uniform washed in the facilities’ laundry? Is there any kind of incentive for employees who report suspicious activity and security violations? Are personnel lockers inspected regularly? Are inspection records kept? Employment contract revision: Is there a periodical check on employee’s criminal records, especially of those working in critical areas? In case of employee’s dismissal, is this communicated to other staff members, including security personnel? 16 General requirements Video surveillance and security software: Are there any external video cameras? Are there any internal video cameras? Are these cameras directed to critical areas (such as the lobby, computer servers and final product packaging room)? Are these cameras identified in the unit’s floor plan? Is the filming angle included in the floor plan? Are production lines monitored by video surveillance? Is the video surveillance system computer managed? Is there a restricted access to that/those computer(s)? Is there a hacker/virus detection software? Is there a responsible person for identification and passwords attribution? Are passwords regularly updated? Maintenance: Are premises and equipment well maintained? Is there a preventive maintenance plan? Are all maintenance interventions recorded? Is maintenance verification performed and recorded? Is there an inventory of maintenance tools and utensils? Is there a periodical inventory of tools and utensils posing a potential risk (knifes, blades, etc.) in each section? Water distribution and storage: Are water distribution and storage facilities regularly inspected? Are records kept? Mail: Is there an employee in charge of managing mail? Has this employee been trained on how to act in case of a suspicious mail event? Analytical control: Is there routine microbiological control of raw materials? Is there routine microbiological control of final products? Is there routine microbiological control of water? Pest control: Are control devices properly protected from unlawful use? Are control devices adequate for food producing premises? Traceability: Are there records of upstream traceability? Are there records of downstream traceability? Is there a regular traceability test evidenced by records? Supplier control: Is there any suppliers’ selection and control system? Do suppliers have a food defense system? Are suppliers’ contracts updated and reviewed? Are suppliers’ contacts readily available and updated? Emergency contacts: Is there an emergency contacts list (medical emergency, police, firefighters)? Are clients’ contacts readily available and updated? 35 Total 110

Industry	Location	Company size	Number of workers	Type of meat-based food products	Technological process
Industry	Location	Company size	Number of workers	Type of meat-based food products	Technological process	A	Industrial park	Small	12	Pork	fermenting, drying and smoking
B	Industrial park	Medium	300	Pork	cooking and smoking

Industry	Audit scores in percentage (proportion of compliance)
Industry	Overall (max.110)	External security (max.27)	Internal security (max.32)	Personnel security (max.16)	General requirements (max. 35)
A	54% (59/110)	19% (5/27)	31% (10/32)	19% (3/16)	60% (21/35)
B	65% (71/110)	59% (16/27)	34% (11/32)	25% (4/16)	77% (27/35)

Industry	Audit scores (proportion of compliance)
Industry	External security group (max. 27)	External perimeter (max. 3)	Building and structure (max. 6)	Access control (max. 10)	Shipping and dispatching (max. 8)
A	5/27 (19%)	0/3	2/6	1/10	2/8
B	16/27 (59%)	2/3	4/6	5/10	5/8

Industry	Audit scores (proportion of compliance)
Industry	Internal security group (max. 32)	Raw materials storage (max. 6)	Subsidiary materials/ chemical storage (max. 6)	Final product storage (max. 6)	Returned/ withdrawn/ suspicious products (max. 5)	Access control (max. 9)
A	10/32 (31%)	2/6	2/6	2/6	2/5	2/9
B	11/32 (34%)	2/6	2/6	2/6	2/5	3/9

Industry	Audit scores (proportion of compliance)
Industry	Personnel security group (max. 16)	Employee’s hiring (max. 3)	Training (max. 5)	Personnel behavior (max. 6)	Employment contract revision (max. 2)
A	3/16 (19%)	1/3	0/5	2/6	0/2
B	4/16 (25%)	1/3	0/5	3/6	0/2

Industry	Audit scores (proportion of compliance)
Industry	General requirements group (max. 35)	Video surveillance and security software (max. 11)	Maintenance (max. 6)	Water distribution and storage (max. 2)	Mail (max. 2)	Analytical control (max. 3)	Pest control (max. 2)	Traceability (max. 3)	Supplier control (max. 4)	Emergency contacts (max. 2)
A	21/35 (60%)	1/11	3/6	2/2	1/2	3/3	2/2	3/3	4/4	2/2
B	27/35 (77%)	7/11	3/6	2/2	1/2	3/3	2/2	3/3	4/4	2/2

Requirement description	Proportion of compliance (number of industries)
Food defense responsibilities are clearly defined. Those responsible should be key staff/ have access to top management team. Sufficient knowledge in this area should be demonstrated.	27/38 (71%)
A food defense hazard analysis and associated risks assessment must be performed and documented. Based on this assessment and on legal requirements, critical security areas must be identified. Food defense hazard analysis and risk assessment should be conducted annually, or upon changes affecting food integrity. An appropriate alert system must be defined and periodically checked for effectiveness.	0/38 (0%)
If legislation makes registration or on-site inspections necessary, evidence of these must be provided.	38/38 (100%)
Based on a hazards analysis and assessment of associated risks, critical security areas should be adequately protected to prevent unauthorized access. Access points should be controlled.	24/38 (63%)
Procedures must be in place to prevent tampering and/or allow identification of tampering.	28/38 (74%)
Visitor policy must include aspects of food defense plan. Delivery and loading staff in contact with the product must be identified and must comply with company’s access rules. Visitors and external services providers must be identified in product storage areas and should be registered upon access. They should be informed about site policies and their access controlled accordingly.	35/38 (92%)
All employees must be trained in food defense on an annual basis or when significant program changes occur. Training sessions must be documented. Employee hiring and termination practices should consider security aspects as permitted by law.	20/38 (53%)
A documented procedure should exist for managing external inspections and regulatory visits. Relevant personnel must be trained to execute the procedure.	36/38 (95%)

Requirement description	Proportion of compliance (number of industries)
Each organization shall assess the potential danger of acts of sabotage, vandalism, or terrorism to their products and should establish protection measures.	5/6 (83%)
The organization shall identify, preferably in the facilities plan, the areas considered more sensitive or susceptible to vandalism, sabotage and terrorism. Access to these places should be denied to unauthorized personnel using locks or electronic keys.	5/6 (83%)

[1] *Corresponding Author: Ana Rita Henriques, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Departamento de Produção Animal e Segurança Alimentar, Av. da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477, Lisboa - Portugal, e-mail: anaritah@fmv.ulisboa.pt

Brasil

Brasil

Assessing the implementation of food defense requirements in industrial meat-based food processors

Avaliação da implementação de requisitos de defesa alimentar em indústrias produtoras de alimentos à base de carne

Abstract