Kim Cowden Featured on DHS Student & Alumni Network
Risk Communication team member and North Dakota State University doctoral student Kim Cowden is profiled on the DHS Student & Alumni Network website. Cowden's work addresses the problems of crisis communication with vulnerable populations.  Her work can be seen at http://risk-crisis.ndsu.nodak.edu/.

2008 DIB • CIP Defense Industrial Base Critical Infrastructure Protection Conference & Technology Exhibition
The National Defense Industrial Association will hold this conference and exhibition April 7-9, 2008 in Miami, Florida.  Topics include:

• Supply Chain Response Management
• Global Supply Chain Vulnerability and Security Issues
• Corporate View to Security and Business Continuity
• Intelligence & Threat Warning: Opportunities for Public and Private Partnerships

Please visit the conference website for more information.

Swati Agiwal Featured on DHS Student & Alumni Network
NCFPD student and supply chain security researcher Swati Agiwal is featured in a profile on both the DHS Student & Alumni Network's website, and in their monthly newsletter [PDF]. Agiwal studies food companies' protection of their supply chains from contamination and their ability to recover from a contamination event.

Best Practices in Risk and Crisis Communication
The International Union of Food Science & Technology has published a Scientific Information Bulletin authored by Stephen Venette, a member of NCFPD Risk Communications Team, describing the ten best practices for effective crisis and risk communication in food systems situations: Best Practices in Risk and Crisis Communication: Advice for Food Scientists and Technologists.

Los Alamos National Laboratory Risk Symposium 2008
Los Alamos National Laboratory will be hosting their third annual symposium on risk analysis March 11-12, 2008 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, titled Effective Risk Communication: Tools, Theory and Applications. The symposium website is here.

DHS Office of Inspector General Food Defense Report
The DHS OIG has released a report titled The Department of Homeland Security’s Role in Food Defense and Critical Infrastructure Protection. This report assesses actions taken by DHS in support of food defense and makes recommendations for the future.

NCFPD Fall 2007 Seminar
NCFPD's Fall Seminar was held November 19th, 2007.  Look for another seminar in Spring 2008!

Best Practices for Defense Against Terrorism: What Consumers Expect and Food Companies Do.

Food manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers have approached their preparation to deal with a potential terrorist attack on food and facilities with various degrees of intensity. A benchmarking survey and subsequent diagnostic tool discovers the strengths and weaknesses in potential resilience to such an attack. Likewise, consumers in the U.S. possess various degrees of fear and expectations about future deliberate attacks on the food system. Three national surveys tracking their attitudes and expectations about protection by government and the private sector reveal dramatic changes in confidence in our food supply.

Speakers: Prof. Jean Kinsey, Professor, Applied Economics Dept. and Director of The Food Industry Center and Dennis Degeneffe, a Research Fellow with the Food Industry Center.

Jean Kinsey's Presentation: [PDF]

Dennis Degeneffe's Presentation: [PDF]

2008 IEEE Homeland Security Technology Conference
The 2008 IEEE International Conference on Technologies for Homeland Security (May 12 & 13, 2008) will focus on novel and innovative technologies addressing the most pressing national security problems.  The call for papers can be viewed here, and the conference website is here.

Food Defense Assessment Tool and Resource List
Developed by The Institute of Food Technologists under contract with the Education Team of the National Center for Food Protection and Defense, this assessment tool aids in the understanding of food defense issues and best practices. The resource list is composed of governmental and non-governmental food defense related websites.

Assessment Tool [PDF]

Resource List [PDF]

DHS Webinar on Import Safety
A new webinar from DHS on the actions in response to the Executive Order on Import Safety can be found on a special page on the FoodSHIELD website at http://imports.foodshield.org

Action Plan for Import Safety
The Interagency Working Group on Import Safety has released its "Action Plan for Import Safety." This Action Plan represents the culmination of thousands of hours of research and analysis, as well as public comment received from hundreds of stakeholders. It is available as a PDF here.

2007 NCFPD Biennial Meeting
Please click here to access the material from the June 2007 meeting.  You will need to login. Once you log in, you will be able to change your user name and password.

2008 Homeland Security S&T Stakeholders Conference West
The Homeland Security S&T Stakeholders Conference West will be held January 14-17, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.  The conference information and registration can be accessed here, and last year's programs and presentations can be viewed here.

National Strategy for Homeland Security
The Homeland Security Council has released the National Strategy for Homeland Security, available here.

Institute of Food Technologists' Global Food Safety and Quality Conference
NCFPD was highlighted in an article in Food Technology reviewing IFT's 2007 Annual Meeting and Food Expo. Also, Susan Harlander of BT Safety, an NCFPD Investigator, gave a presentation on the Consequence Management System. In addition, Dave Wankowski of Kraft Foods, an NCFPD Industry Work Group member, spoke on food defense challenges from an industry perspective. The entire issue of Food Technology can be viewed here, or the article can be downloaded in a PDF here.

NCFPD Intern Featured on DHS Student & Alumni Network
2007 DHS fellow Naomi Shinoda, an Emory University student, talks about her summer internship experience at NCFPD working with Dr. Craig Hedberg on FoodSHIELD.  The article can be viewed here (about halfway down the page): http://www.dhsnetwork.org/07summerinterns.html

Homeland Security Affairs Journal
The Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security has announced the publication of Homeland Security Affairs Volume III, Issue 3. To view the new issue, please visit www.hsaj.org

Terrorism & Preparedness Data Resource Center (TPDRC)
START, in partnership with the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan, is pleased to announce the formal launch of the Terrorism & Preparedness Data Resource Center (TPDRC) Web site. TPDRC is a clearinghouse for news and research data related to terrorism and preparedness around the world, accessible at http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/TPDRC.

A Global Chronology of Incidents of Chemical, Biological, Radioactive and Nuclear Attacks: 1950-2005
Compiled by NCFPD investigators Hamid Mohtadi and Antu Murshid, released July 7, 2006.