School Lunches May Be a Target for Terrorism

Although there is no specific evidence of school lunches being a target for terrorism, the US Department of AgricultureÕs Food and Safety Inspection Service is on the look-out. Carol Maczka, the Assistant Administrator reports that, "The school lunch program is vulnerable" "Terrorists go for symbolic value. They could cause so much upset if they were able to attack our children."

Maczka reported that her office has identified three particularly vulnerable food products; milk, spaghetti sauce and egg substitutes, although several other popular foods should be carefully watched such as chicken nuggets.

At the annual conference for the Association of Food and Drug Officials, which is primarily focused on food security, it was reported that there is a food safety checklist being provided to school lunch providers. These providers are being required to provide their own safety plans.

Changes have already been made to improve particularly vulnerable food products, however, these measures are classified.

The CDC has published several documents on their website:
http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/foodsafety/publications.htm
including:
Strategies for Establishing a State School Food Safety Program (220kb PDF). This document provides eight key strategies for states to adopt in addressing food safety in schools.

Other Federal Agency Publications:
A Biosecurity Checklist for School Foodservice Programs: Developing A Biosecurity Management Plan (440kb PDF). This checklist was developed to help schools protect the health of students and staff by strengthening the safety of foodservice operations. The booklet presents suggestions on how to form a school foodservice biosecurity management team prioritize measures to protect biosecurity, and create a school foodservice biosecurity management plan.