Sustavi zaštite hrane kao odgovor na potencijalni teroristički čin putem hrane

Terrorist attacks on critical infrastructures can cause problems to a national stability and functioning. Food and water supply chains are some of the most important infrastructures, and it is the country’s (government’s) obligation to provide sufficient quantities of food and water to its population. Intentional food contamination can, among other motives, originate from an act of terrorism (with political or ideological motives) with the aim of causing fear (terror) among people. Food defence systems can help assess vulnerabilities, determine mitigation strategies for terrorist attack, estimate risks, and prevent a terrorist attack. Risk assessment and prevention also include control over the production and distribution of potential chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) agents or their related materials. When a terrorist attack occurs, rapid and organised response is essential in terms of determining the type of agent used, managing the diseased, ensuring the functioning of the food and water supply, and the recovery of the infrastructure system under attack. Food defence planning as part of a food counterterrorism strategy should include considerations regarding the global food market and the fact that ingredients are supplied from all over the world (vendor certificates). Preventing terrorist attacks on sources of food and water is a far better option than crisis management once an attack had already been committed, but governments should have a response to any scenario.Potencijalni teroristički napad na kritične infrastrukture može prouzročiti problem za stabilnost i funkcioniranje države. Opskrbni lanci hranom i vodom važne su državne infrastrukture, stoga država ima obvezu osigurati dovoljne količine hrane i vode svom pučanstvu. Namjerno trovanje hrane kazneno je djelo koje nastaje terorističkim činom (politički i ideološki motivi) ili izazivanjem straha (terora) među ljudima. Sustavi zaštite hrane mogu pomoći pri procjeni ranjivosti, određivanju strategija ublažavanja terorističkoga napada te pri procjeni rizika i sprječavanju rizika od terorističkoga napada. U procjenu i sprječavanje rizika pripada i kontrola prometa i proizvodnje potencijalnih kemijskih, bioloških, radioloških i nuklearnih (KBRN) agensâ ili srodnih materijala u državi i izvan nje. Kada se teroristički napad dogodi, bitan je brz i organiziran odgovor države u smislu određivanja vrste korištenog agensa, zbrinjavanja oboljelih, nastavka funkcioniranja opskrbe hranom i vodom nakon napada te oporavka napadnutoga sustava. Planiranje zaštite hrane kao dio strategije za borbu protiv terorizma hranom odnosno agroterorizma treba uključiti razmatranje globalnoga lanca opskrbe sastojcima hrane koja se nabavlja diljem svijeta (proizvođački certifikati). Prevencija terorističkoga napada na hranu bolji je izbor nego upravljanje kriznim događajem (počinjeni napad), ali država bi trebala imati spreman odgovor na sve opcije

Assessment of the potential toxicity of herbicides and their degradation products to nontarget cells using two microorganisms, the bacteria Vibrio fischeri and the ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis

International audienceThe potential toxicity of several herbicides-alachlor, diuron and its photo and biotransformation products, glyphosate and its metabolite aminomethyl phosphonic acid (AMPA)-to nontarget cells was assessed using two microorganisms frequently used in ecotoxicology, Vibrio fischeri and Tetrahymena pyriformis. Toxicity assays involved the Microtox® test, the T. pyriformis population growth impairment test employing three different processes (flasks, tubes, microplates), and the T. pyriformis nonspecific esterase activities test. Several IC50 or EC50 values are reported for each molecule. Alachlor exerted a toxic effect on the two nontarget cells used. The results for diuron and its photo and biotransformation products indicated that most of the metabolites presented nontarget toxicity higher than that of diuron. Glyphosate and AMPA had a less negative effect on T. pyriformis than on V. fischeri. Nevertheless, in all cases, glyphosate was found to be more toxic than AMPA. Comparison analysis of the sensitivity of the different tests showed that, in general, tests using the eukaryotic cell (7: pyriformis} were more sensitive than test using the prokaryotic cell (V. fischeri), and that a population growth criterion is more sensitive than an enzymatic criterion. The three different processes that could be used to evaluate effects on population growth rate were equally sensitive for the herbicides tested. A significant correlation between toxicity data and the hydrophobicity of the chemicals could only be established with the growth population test. This study demonstrates that it is essential to assess the toxicity of the metabolites formed to complete a more comprehensive study of the environmental impact of a polluting agent