Name at least 3 things a food facility can do to protect against an exterior attack.

• A. Purchase raw materials from known/trusted sources; Encourage suppliers to practice food defense; Inspect and secure; Establish pick up and delivery schedules
• B. Post security announcements on social media
• C. Ignore supplier verification
• D. Limit delivery windows to only night shifts

Answer: (A)

Protecting a facility against exterior threats requires layered security that starts with the supply chain and extends to the receiving area. The best approach includes multiple, complementary actions: source raw materials from known, trusted suppliers; encourage suppliers to implement food defense practices so security starts before materials even reach your dock; inspect incoming shipments and secure entry points to catch tampering and control access; and establish predictable pick-up and delivery schedules to limit unsupervised access and improve monitoring.

Sourcing from trusted suppliers reduces the chance that materials entering the facility have been tampered with or contaminated. Involving suppliers in food defense expands protection beyond your walls, since they share responsibility for protecting inputs. Inspecting and securing incoming materials and dock areas helps detect tampering and enforces perimeter controls. Scheduling deliveries creates controlled, traceable access and easier security screening, lowering the risk from opportunistic or unauthorized entry.

The other options don’t address exterior threat protection effectively: posting security announcements on social media doesn’t harden the facility or control access; ignoring supplier verification leaves a critical vulnerability at the source; and limiting delivery windows alone may disrupt operations and still doesn’t strengthen exterior security or control access.