The FDA of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have created an online tool to help farmers and producers assess and mitigate vulnerabilities in their production processes.
The risk assessment tool called Agriculture CARVER + Shock is designed to help the food industry at the farm level – implement food production security methods. The software is free and available at http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodDefense/CARVER.
CARVER was originally developed by the U.S. military to identify areas that might be vulnerable to attack. The FDA and USDA adapted the model to the food and agriculture sector. The software currently evaluates potential vulnerabilities in the supply chains of different foods and food processes. The FDA and APHIS worked with Sandia National Laboratories to develop the special agriculture module, designed primarily for harvest and pre-harvest food production operations.
“This assessment tool helps the producer understand how an attacker might think,” said Stephen F. Sundlof, D.V.M., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “Producers can easily identify weak spots in their operation and receive practical advice on countermeasures they can put in place.”
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