Threats and security in the food supply chain

The supply of food is a global issue and long, complex product chains can present opportunities for intentional contamination. Some links in the chains are well protected, while others are more exposed. There are many different ways to contaminate food products, just as there are many different reasons for why someone would want to carry out such an attack. Both the threat of such an attack and an attack itself can have considerable consequences for companies, countries and consumers. It is important to know how to increase security as well as how to best handle threats and crises. In several countries, the USA in particular, government agencies are working to decrease the risk of someone contaminating foodstuffs. WHO has called for improved preparedness and intensified co-operation with food companies in all countries, to which the Swedish National Food Administration has responded by starting a network of agencies and companies. This report was written as a part of the Swedish National Food Agency´s efforts to improve security within the food supply chain. It serves primarily as a literary review. We go through the different categories of assailants, analyse previous attacks on the food supply chain and conjecture how future attacks resulting in large-scale contamination of products could be carried out. The review of known attacks, in total 54 cases, shows that easily accessible chemical preparations, for example rat poison, were used in most cases. The assailants were often unknown or acted independently, and few had political, religious or ethical motives, but rather personal reasons for their actions. Different types of beverages have proven to be the most common object of contamination attacks and victims often came into contact with the contaminated products in stores, at hospitals, at research facilities and at home. In more than half of the cases, the number injured totalled less than 30. The description of actual attacks can be compared to suppositions in the literature about what might happen if an assailant with political motives consciously contaminated foodstuffs. The literature expresses much more concern about large-scale attacks with specifically named biological agents. It has been speculated that the early stages of the food supply chain, such as the breeding of cattle, would be attacked or that agents would be added during food production. It has also been conjectured that entire sections of agriculture would be eradicated if, for example, animals become sick. Consumers would consequently lose their faith in foodstuffs, which would lead to considerable financial losses. Scenarios are described that show the consequences of large-scale attacks in terms of number of fatalities and injuries. As a whole, the descriptions of potential attacks outlined in the literature are far more complex and serious than attacks that have actually come to fruition. However, even the minor attacks that are carried out every year around the world cause significant suffering for their victims. We emphasise that there are good reasons for intensifying research related to foodstuffs, threats and vulnerability, and for focusing on threats that can be averted through improved routines built on existing quality control systems.