Networking to improve food biosecurity

Bioterrorism involves using infectious agents or other harmful biological or biochemical substances as weapons. Besides instilling fear, attacks against agriculture using plant pathogens as bioweapons (agroterrorism) would cause economic losses and give rise to political instability.

The EU-funded 'Plant and food biosecurity' (PLANTFOODSEC) project established a virtual Plant and Food Biosecurity Centre to enhance international preparedness against agroterrorism attacks.

Team members first identified the most threatening plant pathogens and pests to the most important food crops as priorities for research and regulatory policy. They then studied the fungal pathogen Fusarium proliferatum, which damages crops and impacts human health through cancer-causing toxins, as a model for deliberate pest introduction.

Human foodborne pathogens that cause disease outbreaks were also flagged as potential bioweapons. To contain threats from deliberate food contamination, structures were put in place for coordinated European-wide disease surveillance, detection and response programmes. A risk evaluation scheme specific for agroterrorism threats has been developed and a framework for a virtual web-based diagnostic network, with the temporary acronym EUPFSIS (EU Plant and Food Security Information System) has been created.

PLANTFOODSEC played a central role in plant and food biosecurity dissemination, awareness and communication. This will improve national and regional responses to agroterrorism threats.