Food terror threat worries US

2004-12-12 16:26

Washington - US authorities worry terrorists could target food supplies in an attempt to sicken or kill hundreds, maybe thousands of people.

Outgoing US health and human services secretary Tommy Thompson made the surprise suggestion earlier this month, pointing out that the US food distribution system was an "easy" target.

President George W Bush, meanwhile, has tried to downplay the problem.

However, experts believe the threat is real.

"We recognise that there is a significant amount of vulnerability in certain selected areas and we are working diligently to reduce this vulnerability," said Frank Busta, director of the National Centre for Food Protection and Defence.

Intentional contamination of food by a terrorist group such as al-Qaeda would have a devastating effect on public opinion and serious consequences for the food industry.

The US centres for disease control and prevention points out on its website that salmonella and E.Coli could be used to contaminate food with fatal consequences.

The United States had to face a case of known bio-terrorism in 1984 when a religious sect in Oregon used salmonella to poison salad bars in restaurants, making 750 people sick.

US authorities are well aware of such a risk. When the first case of mad cow disease was registered in the country last year, agriculture secretary Ann Veneman was quick to say experts had ruled out the possibility of terrorism.

"Secretary Tommy Thompson is right to think that the food supply isn't as safe as it could be from a terrorist attack," said Caroline Smith DeWaal of the Centre for Science in the Public Interest.

"It hasn't helped that most of the anti bio-terrorism regulations that the administration has issued have been significantly watered down under pressure from the food industry."

The US government has just mandated food producers and distributors maintain shipping documents, which would allow authorities to trace the origins of a food in case of a bioterrorist attack.

According to Smith DeWaal, the food and drug administration's (FDA) new record-keeping requirement is "a modest improvement," but it is not enough to ensure the safety of foodstuffs.

"What is needed is brand-new legislation that would give FDA authority to visit foreign factories and farms that want to ship food to the US," she said.

During his press conference, Thompson also expressed concern about foods imported from the Middle East.

Busta said the problem with the importing was that the supply chain becomes much longer, giving terrorists more opportunities.

However, very few imported food products - about 2% - are inspected in the US, despite increased protective measures after September 11, 2001.

"You cannot inspect everything," pointed out Busta, but added that the number of inspectors available "is really low."

He suggested developing better techniques for verifying the safety of the food.

- SAPA