CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
NCFPD Research Spotlight
Since its inception NCFPD has made significant contributions to the Nation's understanding of food protection and defense to help make the nation’s food system less vulnerable to a biological or chemical attack. A few key research highlights are listed below, with links to external sites for more information.
Food & Agriculture Sector Criticality Assessment Tool (FAS-CAT): FAS-CAT identifies critical assets in the food and agriculture sector. The tool helps States determine the most critical elements, nodes, and subsystems in the food and agriculture infrastructure. FAS-CAT is the system that states were required to use when answering the 2010 DHS data call. It will remain the DHS tool of choice for 2011 submissions. The tool can be downloaded at www.ncfpd.umn.edu.
The Supply Chain Benchmarking Diagnostic Tool is an online survey tool. By answering 42 questions about preparedness, a firm can see how it rates against its peers and see where it may be vulnerable to a terrorist attack. The tool is available at http://webapps.cfans.umn.edu/TFIC/Main/index.html.
Risk Communication Best Practices: In collaboration with the food industry, the International Food Information Council, Dairy Management Inc., and other parties, NCFPD’s Risk Communication project team has identified best practices, key messages, and delivery methods to address the communication needs of the many audiences and stakeholders before, during, and after a catastrophic foodborne outbreak. Targeted training modules and instructional resources have been developed to help organizations more effectively communicate about risks and crises.