The nation has been on hyper-alert for the past year about a lot of things – including food and where it comes from.

James Roth, director of the Center for Food Security and Public Health at Iowa State, said there are three major concerns relating to food security, safety and the threat of bioterrorism.

“There is potential for animal diseases to have a very serious effect on food producing animals,” said Roth, distinguished professor of veterinary medicine. Some of those diseases, like foot-and-mouth disease, can be passed to humans while others cannot.

Another major concern is bioterrorism pathogens.

Roth said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a list of possible pathogens and is working with various other governmental agencies to prepare for any incident of bioterrorism. Most of the pathogens on the CDC list are zoonotic, he said, meaning they can affect both humans and animals.

Roth said the pathogen chosen by a terrorist will determine its impact.

“Smallpox is the worst case scenario,” he said. “It is a bad disease that spreads from one person to another. Anthrax does not spread person-to-person.”

A third concern is food safety, “where an infectious agent gets into prepared foods and makes people ill,” he said.

Roth said any one of those concerns could become reality accidentally or intentionally.”Some of these things happen accidentally on a small scale, but the real concern is terrorism on a large scale,” Roth said.Cheryll Reitmeier, associate professor of food science and human nutrition, said she is confident in the food industry.

“Personally, I’m not too worried about it,” she said.

Reitmeier said a contamination scare would most likely impact a large operation, like a ground meat processing plant, because thousands of pounds of food are dealt with.

She said people in the food industry are now even more aware of the risks of contamination and are alert to those risks.

“Every food processing facility is inspected by someone of some kind – the state of Iowa, the USDA, the city sanitarians,” Reitmeier said. “We have in place a pretty thorough inspection system.

“Plus, it’s in their own interest to make sure the food is safe and sanitary,” she continued. “Any hint of problem, and a food company goes out of business.”

Dan Henroid, food safety extension specialist, has a background in the retail food industry. He said a risk exists, but he does not perceive it as high.

“The Food and Drug Administration has guidelines to address the issue,” Henroid said.

A lengthy document details facility and employee security measures that should be taken in retail and commercial settings, he said.

Regardless of terrorism threats, Roth said everyone should follow necessary food safety precautions at home and in business.

“Prepare your food carefully, thoroughly cook meat and wash all fruits and and vegetables,” he said.

Henroid agrees.

“People need to be on alert and make sure they know how food is being served,” he said. “[People need to] take precautions to make sure it is handled and served properly.”

Roth said the Center for Food Security and Public Health is focused on preparing for accidental or intentional bioterrorism against animals and humans and educating the public about those diseases.

“We are working to educate both veterinarian and animal owners on the symptoms of the diseases because rapid recognition is crucial,” Roth said.

Henroid operates the Food Safety and Quality Project at Iowa State, which worked with 130 countries last year regarding food preparation and safety.

“It is … difficult to predict what a terrorist might do,” Roth said. “We need to be vigilant and government agencies are stepping up their ability to prevent these sorts of things.”