Ohio to develop plans to protect grocery stores from bioterrorism
Ohio is developing a comprehensive plan to monitor against terrorist poisoning of grocery supplies
State officials and local grocers in Ohio are trying to evaluate how safe the food at grocery stores is as part of a larger plan to protect residents from bioterrorism. Officials cite a recent case in which two Chilean grapes were found injected with cyanide, causing shipments of grapes from Chile to the Unites States to be cut off. Ohio will become the second state in the nation to develop a food defense preparedness guide for food retailers.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Ohio Grocers Association developed a new food defense guide to ensure the food going into your home is safe. “Food terrorism could be our next big challenge,” said Ken Morckel, of the Ohio Department of Homeland Security. The new guide allows Ohio retailers to access their food security plan and identify any areas of weakness. The areas include outside and inside a grocery store, and storage security. The new guide will be distributed to all retail food establishments in Ohio through local health departments.
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