The food terrorism – the essence and the methods of systemic defense

Objectives The phenomenon of food terrorism belongs to one of the many varieties of terrorism and, due to its effects on society, is one of the most dangerous manifestations of criminal activity. As a result of food terrorism, food safety and food security are threatened. The purpose of this paper is to present the general essence of the phenomenon of food terrorism and to identify the requirements of existing systems from the field of management to minimize the consequences associated with it. The rationale for dealing with this topic is the current unstable economic and political situation, especially the ongoing war in Ukraine, prompting organizations to be more concerned than before about the safety of the product, consumers, and their employees. Material and methods Critical analysis of the literature, the method of document analysis, including the legal-dogmatic method, then the comparative method, as well as the method of synthesis, and logical inference. Results The paper presents the results of the analysis of existing recognized quality and food safety management systems. The systems were analyzed for their alignment with food defense requirements. Conclusions The research confirmed that each of the identified systems contains references to food defense, although not all contain a clear definition of it, a need to develop a defense plan, and conduct a risk assessment. The management systems are generic, which means that organizations should use additional solutions, such as the TACCP (Threat Assessment Critical Control Points) system when implementing a food defense plan.