What is Food Defence and TACCP?

 

What is Food Defence and TACCP?

Food defence and TACCP consider measures implemented by food companies to protect the food against intentional contamination by individuals normally motivated by hatred, an ideology, disagreement, or any other malicious intent. Organisations, therefore, implement a Threat Assessment Critical Control Point (TACCP), which is a risk assessment that is intended to ensure food is protected from deliberate contamination. The organisation would identify key points that are most vulnerable to contamination and put in risk mitigation strategies to minimize the risk of product contamination.

Why Food Defence and TACCP are Important?

Over the past years, there have been reported cases of intentional contamination of food by either disgruntled employees, contractors, mentally unstable persons,  and competitors. Such incidents, usually motivated by malice, have pressured food handling organisations to tighten controls to ensure consumer safety. This is because the integrity of a business lies in the measures it takes to ensure the product meets the expectations of consumers, customers, and interested parties. If product safety and legality are compromised,  this can lead to a loss in product integrity, consumer confidence, and could threaten general Public Health.

Food Defence Plan or TACCP

As a requirement by most food safety standards, a food manufacturing company should have a food defense plan or a TACCP. To ensure companies have an effective food defense plan, a threat vulnerability assessment should be carried out first to identify all the potential threats to product safety and general production processes.  The threat assessment considers all the intentional food contamination threats and their likelihood to affect the safety of a product. Once an assessment has been carried out, then a company can implement mitigation strategies and procedures for threats identified. The threat assessment should cover all supply chains from suppliers of raw material to consumers.

It is important that mitigation plans and procedures are communicated to all employees from top management to frontline employees who work directly with food. Mitigation plans, procedures, and policies should be followed at all times and not be overlooked and all employees should receive training where necessary.

Depending on the vulnerability of a company to a certain threat, various mitigation strategies can include:

• Inspections of tampering on products by the appointed safety team
• Facility security measures e.g. manned gates
• Access codes, locks, and electronic card keys
• CCTVs
• Access restriction and use of portable electronic devices
• Whistle-blowing arrangements
• Pre-employment checks
• Training interventions

Cultivating a positive food safety culture in a company where employees are able to recognise and respect their roles in food defense by following all measures in place and reporting anything that is out of the ordinary is perhaps the best mitigation strategy a company can implement.

Most organisations use the FDA Food Defense Plan as a form of risk assessment to determine the strength of their food defence system among other risk assessments. There are however various tools that can be used. A facility may also elect to formulate its own risk assessment based on what is best suitable for it.

Conclusions

Intentional food contamination can have a negative impact on a company and the public in general. It can cost a company its reputation and loss in public confidence, and consumer health may also be put at risk. When a company implements an effective and fully implemented food defence plan, it can save money from potential product recalls, legal fines, and consumer lawsuits. Having a food defence plan also ensures compliance to legislative and food safety standard requirements and most importantly customer requirements, which ultimately can strengthen the company’s brand reputation.

Key facts

• Food defence and TACCP are measures that protect food from intentional contamination by people motivated by malice, ideology, disagreement or other harmful intent.
• TACCP (Threat Assessment Critical Control Point) is a risk assessment that identifies the points most vulnerable to deliberate contamination and applies mitigation strategies to reduce the risk.
• Most food safety standards require a food manufacturer to have a food defence plan or TACCP, starting with a threat vulnerability assessment across the whole supply chain from raw material suppliers to consumers.
• Mitigation strategies can include product tampering inspections, facility security such as manned gates, access controls, CCTV, restricting portable devices, whistle-blowing arrangements, pre-employment checks and training.
• A positive food safety culture, where employees respect their food defence roles and report anything unusual, is described as perhaps the best mitigation a company can implement.
• An effective food defence plan protects reputation and consumer confidence while helping avoid recalls, legal fines and lawsuits and ensuring compliance with legal, standard and customer requirements.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between food defence and TACCP?

Food defence is the overall goal of protecting food from intentional, malicious contamination, while TACCP (Threat Assessment Critical Control Point) is the risk assessment used to achieve it. TACCP identifies the key points most vulnerable to deliberate contamination and puts mitigation strategies in place to minimise the risk. In practice a company's food defence plan is built on a TACCP-style threat assessment.

Why is food defence important for food companies?

Food defence is important because there have been reported cases of intentional food contamination by disgruntled employees, contractors, mentally unstable persons and competitors. Such malicious incidents can compromise product safety and legality, leading to loss of product integrity, consumer confidence and even threats to public health. A strong food defence plan protects both consumers and the company's reputation.

How do you create a food defence plan or TACCP?

Start with a threat vulnerability assessment to identify all potential threats to product safety and production processes, and how likely each is to affect the product. The assessment should cover the whole supply chain, from raw material suppliers through to consumers. Once threats are identified, the company implements mitigation strategies and procedures and communicates and trains all employees on them.

What mitigation strategies can be used for food defence?

Depending on the company's vulnerability, mitigation strategies can include inspecting products for tampering, facility security such as manned gates, access codes, locks, electronic card keys and CCTV, restricting portable electronic devices, whistle-blowing arrangements, pre-employment checks and training interventions. The article also notes that cultivating a positive food safety culture, where employees follow measures and report anything out of the ordinary, is perhaps the best mitigation strategy of all.

Is a food defence plan or TACCP a requirement?

Yes, having a food defence plan or TACCP is a requirement of most food safety standards for food manufacturing companies. Beyond compliance with legislative, food safety standard and customer requirements, an effective and fully implemented plan can save money from potential product recalls, legal fines and consumer lawsuits. It also helps strengthen the company's brand reputation.

What tools can be used for a food defence risk assessment?

Most organisations use the FDA Food Defense Plan as a form of risk assessment to gauge the strength of their food defence system, among other risk assessments. However, various tools can be used, and a facility may also choose to formulate its own risk assessment based on what best suits it.