Please share with your employees the following recommendations and implement those that apply:

• Report any suspicious activity or threat to the Minnesota Duty Officer and your local law enforcement office. The Minnesota Duty Officer can be reached at the following numbers:
• 651-649-5451 (Metro)
• 800-422-0798 (Non-Metro)
• 651-296-2300 (Fax)
• If you hire someone from an outside vendor to work in the plant (plumber, pesticide applicator, repairs, etc.), verify that they work for the company you hired.
• Use an employee identification system and consider background checks on new employees.
• Restrict movement of non-employees (deliveries, outside repair and maintenance, plant tours, etc.) to areas where they cannot contaminate food products.
• Screen visitors by having them show identification and sign in. Maintain the visitor roster for 6-12 months. Have all visitors including regulatory inspectors wear "visitor passes."
• Personnel who move freely throughout the plant (QA and production employees) should watch for signs of sabotage to equipment; missing, broken or unprotected glass; indication of tampering with ingredients or packaging.
• Keep entry doors and other entrances secure and locked where fire codes permit.
• Make sure that protective equipment such as screens, sifters, magnets or metal detectors are in place and functioning.
• Ask employees to report anything suspicious to their supervisors.
• Establish contact with the local law enforcement offices (police, sheriff, etc.) so you know who to contact in case of emergencies or disasters. (As a courtesy, use their non-emergency number.)
• Ensure that your water supply system is secure, with locks on wellheads and pump houses, water storage tanks, etc.
• Assess your plant's risk level for sabotage of bulk ingredients. Ensure that connections for bulk systems are locked and secure. For example, outer connections for liquid sugar, corn syrup, etc. should be enclosed and locked at all times.
• If a telephone threat is received about a specific product, record or write down as nearly as possible every word said. Then segregate that product completely until the threat has been investigated and confirmed or eliminated.
• Have an updated recall plan in place and ready for use if necessary.
• Inventory your potential hazardous chemicals and review your security for them. Are they stored in a non-secure, non-supervised area? Are they stored outside? Are bulk delivery systems secure? Do you make it easy for a disgruntled employee, copycat tamperer or terrorist to obtain chemicals and potentially add these to the production system?
• Restrict all personal items such as carry bags, extra clothing, purses, etc. from the processing areas.
• For lab safety, maintain an up-to-date inventory of all hazardous chemicals and solvents and keep them locked up. Keep pathogen cultures locked up and lock the lab when it is not occupied. Do not allow lab materials except sample collection materials to be brought out into the plant.
• For ingredient safety, know your suppliers and have an inspection system for incoming ingredients. Develop accountability for all restricted ingredients such as nitrites and for food allergens such as dairy, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs and fish.
• Invite the local law enforcement agency to review your security measures.
• Take precautions when handling mail that enters your facility. Mail handlers should use disposable gloves. Have a supply of plastic bags for suspicious mail. Contact your local law enforcement agency if a suspicious package or envelope is discovered. Typical characteristics of suspicious mail include: badly typed, written or misspelled words; no return address; excess wrapping, tape or string; strange appearances (odor, oily stains, discoloration, white powder, etc.); excess postage or markings indicating it was mailed from a foreign country; a city or state in the postmark that doesn't match the return address.

We are currently not aware of any terrorist threats against Minnesota's food supply. Nevertheless, if you are involved in food processing, transportation or retail sales, be vigilant for any suspicious activity and be proactive in preventing problems before they occur. The goal should be to make it as difficult as possible for a potential troublemaker to tamper with your food products.