Evaluating Persian Adoption of FDA Food Defense Assessment Checklist for Dairy Producing Units in Northeastern of Iran

Abstract

<strong>Introduction:</strong> In today's world, “It is believed that use of microbial agents and biological toxins are harmful for human health. Food industry is a soft target and potentially vulnerable to deliberate contamination. The manufacturing units of dairy industry are a good example. The purpose of this study was to determine the level of food defense preparedness of dairy production units using FDA Food Defense Assessment Checklist. <strong>Methods:</strong> In this descriptive cross-sectional study<em>, </em><em>Persian</em>version of checklist was prepared using<em>backward</em><em>-</em><em>forward translation method</em> and evaluated for its face and content validity by the panel of experts. Content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) of all items were calculated. After the localization of the study tool, 39 dairy producers entered the study. <strong>Results:</strong> After modifying checklist based on validity assessment and localization, the number of questions reduced from 34 to 31. The level of food defense preparedness in dairy producers in terms of management, human element, facility, and operations were 38.3%, 45.5%, 67.7%, and 92.1% respectively. The only item in the checklist that was seen in all evaluated units was the existence of an initial assessment plan for the adequacy of food security procedures to prevent the deliberate contamination. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> The results of this study showed that food defense preparedness of large-scale dairy producers was not ideal and it was determined impractical in many items. Hence, further studies are required to determine its cause and then take the necessary steps to enhance the level of preparedness.