ID NEWS: GAO says processors should submit security plans to the government

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could lower the risk of an attack on the nation's food supply, if food processors were required to provide detailed security plans, according to a report by the General Accounting Office (GAO), the congressional investigative arm.

"Without the ability to require food processing facilities to provide information on their security measures, these federal agencies cannot fully assess industry's efforts to prevent or reduce the vulnerability of he nation's food supply to deliberate contamination," the report stated, as quoted by the Associated Press (AP).

The GAO maintains that the country's food supply is vulnerable to attack because the government cannot ensure the security of processing plants, which currently submit information on a voluntary basis.

Some manufacturers feel, however, that sharing this information would make them more vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

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