DHS seeking technology to protect food supply.

The Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency is seeking new laboratory detection technology to screen the food supply for hidden dangers. The system will need to quickly scan for biological pathogens or toxins that pose a threat to consumers.

HSARPA's Food Biological Agent Detection Sensor (FBADS) program seeks to develop a cost-effective detection method for use in food manufacturing and processing facilities. Ideally, according to HSARPA documents, the system would be able to get accurate readings for a wide range of potential threats in less than 20 minutes, with a minimum of human involvement. A low cost also is desired, "so that it can be absorbed by industry and have practical use beyond protection of the food supply."

The FBADS initiative responds to Homeland Security Presidential Directive-9, "Defense of United States Agriculture and Food." That directive tries to place a framework around what many homeland security experts see as a large gap in the national defenses.

The food network has many openings for manmade and natural disasters, as witnessed by recent outbreaks of avian flu and foot-and-mouth disease. "The United States agriculture and food systems are vulnerable to disease, pest or poisonous agents that occur naturally, are unintentionally introduced or are intentionally delivered by acts of terrorism," HSPD-9 states. "America's agriculture and food system is an extensive, open, interconnected, diverse and complex structure providing potential targets for terrorist attacks."

Awards for the system may be granted in mid- to late 2005, depending on the availability of future funding, HSARPA's solicitation noted.

Food security is monitored as part of the information analysis and infrastructure protection focus of the Homeland Security Operations Center, the department's primary hub for information sharing and coordinated reaction during domestic incidents.

Food and agricultural security issues are receiving increasing attention across the federal spectrum. Most efforts have been spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which is conducting a far-flung vulnerability assessment of domestic and imported food.

The USDA also has established an Office of Food Security and Emergency Preparedness, and implemented the National Consumer Complaint Monitoring System, a surveillance regime that tracks food-related complaints in hopes it will serve as an early warning system for a potential food-borne attack or outbreak.