What is a vulnerability assessment?
A vulnerability assessment is a risk-assessment-style evaluation of a food’s vulnerability to food fraud.
A food fraud vulnerability assessment is a documented assessment that identifies vulnerabilities to food fraud and explains how those vulnerabilities were identified.
Vulnerability assessments are also done to assess the threat of a malicious attack on food. Malicious attacks include attacks conducted for extortion, ideological reasons or terrorism. We call these issues of food defense. To learn more about vulnerability assessments for food defense (intentional adulteration), click here.
Why ‘vulnerability’ and not ‘risk’?
- A risk is something that has occurred before and will occur again. A risk can be quantified using existing data.
- A vulnerability is a weakness that can be exploited. A vulnerability can lead to a risk.
Food fraud is difficult to estimate and quantify, so we use the word vulnerability rather than risk.
Why do a vulnerability assessment?
- To protect consumers: Food that is vulnerable to food fraud presents significant risks to consumers. Food that is adulterated or diluted [Read more…]