Evaluating Persian Adoption of FDA Food Defense Assessment Checklist for Dairy Producing Units in Northeastern of Iran

Introduction: In the modern era, it is believed that the use of microbial agents and biological toxins may be harmful to human health. The food industry is a potentially vulnerable target to deliberate contamination, such as the manufacturing units of the dairy industry. The present study aimed to determine the level of food defense preparedness in dairy production units based on the food defense assessment checklist developed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted using the Persian version of the FDA checklist, which was prepared via backward-forward translation and evaluated in terms of face and content validity by a panel of experts. The content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) of all the items were calculated. After localizing the research instrument, 39 dairy producers were enrolled in the study. Results: After modifying the FDA checklist based on validity assessment and localization, the number of the items reduced from 34 to 31. The level of food defense preparedness in the selected dairy producers in terms of management, human elements, facilities, and operations was estimated at 38.3%, 45.5%, 67.7%, and 92.1%, respectively. The only item that was observed in all the evaluated units was the presence of an initial assessment plan for the adequacy of food security procedures in order to prevent deliberate contamination. Conclusion: According to the results, the food defense preparedness of large-scale dairy producers was suboptimal and impractical in several items. Therefore, further investigation is required to determine the causes and take proper measures to enhance their level of preparedness.