OHIO
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2003
Contact: Mark Anthony, ODA Communications, 614-752-9817
REYNOLDSBURG – Ohio
Agriculture Director Fred L. Dailey today reiterated general guidelines for Ohio
farms, food processors, and other agribusinesses to enhance their security
following the federal and state terrorism threat level upgrade announced on
Tuesday. There has been no reported threat against agriculture or the food
supply, although both could be vulnerable to sabotage by terrorists.
“Working with federal and
state officials, our department will take all appropriate actions to protect
Ohio’s food supply and agricultural production from terrorism,” Dailey said.
“We have worked aggressively since September 2001 to monitor for disease and
contamination that could come from sabotage, and we’ve helped many food
producers and processors improve the security of their businesses. We will
intensify these efforts under the new threat level.”
Dailey’s comments followed
Governor Bob Taft’s announcement on Tuesday that Ohio's terror threat level
was upgraded from yellow ("elevated") to orange ("high”) on
Monday night in conjunction with Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge's
identical action on the national level.
The U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, USDA, and FDA reported Tuesday that they are taking more aggressive
steps to inspect imported food and advised state agriculture officials and
agriculture and food industry leaders nationwide to take extra precautions
against possible sabotage.
The Ohio Department of
Agriculture instructed its field staff Tuesday to be alert for unusual incidents
or signs as they inspect feedlots, food warehouses, meat and poultry processing
plants, and other agribusinesses the department routinely scrutinizes. The department is advising these businesses of informational
resources available from ODA, FDA, and USDA to help them upgrade their security
if needed. Also, the department increased security at its administrative
buildings, and department staff conferred with fellow emergency response
planners at other state agencies on security issues.
Dailey urged citizens to call
the department toll-free at 1-800-300-9755 if they see signs of suspicious
illness in animals, or call 1-800-282-1955 toll-free if they are suspicious of
food tampering. He also asked that agricultural producers and processors take
additional precautions to guard their premises and products against harm, such
as:
Producers and processors should take physical security measures such as
inspecting all visitor vehicles and escorting all visitors to their facilities.
Livestock and poultry producers should keep unauthorized visitors out of animal production facilities to help prevent the spread of animal diseases, whether there is a disease threat or not. Authorized persons should be required to wear protective clothing and shoes before entering a facility.
Livestock and poultry producers and veterinarians should be alert for signs of infectious foreign animal diseases, check their animals daily for symptoms, and report suspicious symptoms to ODA by calling 1-800-300-9755 toll-free.
Fertilizer dealers should report suspicious purchases of or attempts to purchase ammonium nitrate or urea to the FBI. Fertilizer and pesticide dealers should keep these goods well secured and inventoried.
All agribusinesses and food establishments should conduct background
checks on employees, pay close attention to product inventories and shipments,
and report all suspicious activities, vehicles, or persons around their
property.
Dailey said the state
agriculture department has undertaken a number of long-range measures since
September 2001 to better safeguard the state’s agriculture industry and food
supply against possible terrorist attack, including:
Training emergency first-responders in farm biosecurity and disinfection measures.
Increasing plant and animal disease surveillance using new federal homeland security funding.
Consulting personally with food processors and distributors on how to upgrade premise security.
Joining the FDA’s national network of food safety laboratories to help
respond to agriterrorism threats.
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For more information on
agriculture biosecurity and agriterrorism preparedness, link to these Internet
sites:
Ohio
Department of Agriculture