USDA Establishes Procedures to Be Followed During a DHS Threat Condition

USDA FSIS is reissuing this directive because Inspection Program Personnel (IPP) cannot carry out the instruction in the Note under Section X, Food Defense Plan. FSIS is only updating the Performance Based Inspection System plant profile regarding functional Food Defense Plans annually. This directive continues to provide IPP with new frequencies for verifying a risk-based approach to Food Defense Verification Procedures. This directive also provides new instructions to IPPs in egg product plants regarding how to record Food Defense Verification Procedures. As with meat and poultry establishments, all egg product plants will now use PBIS to electronically record these activities.
Key Points Covered:

• a risk-based approach for scheduling food defense verification procedures
• how Threat Condition declarations will be communicated to field personnel;
• how to respond to Threat Condition declarations;
• how to effectively address and resolve noted security concerns in order to ensure that food is protected, thereby protecting public health; and
• how to determine if an establishment has developed, implemented, tested, and assessed, and maintains, a food defense plan.

Click here to read the directive.