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President Obama announced the creation of a Food Safety Working Group, which will oversee the coordination across federal agencies, to improve the country’s food-safety system. Each year, approximately 76 million people in the United States are sickened by contaminated food and about 5,000 die. Last year, the FDA inspected only 7,000 of the country’s 150,000 food processing facilities.

Among findings revealed in recent hearings on the continuing threat of terrorism, included are the private sector has a role in protecting infrastructure, such as the hotels hit in the Mumbai attacks.

ASIS International and the Society for Human Resource Management are collaborating on a new standard for developing an approach to help minimize workplace violence. The standard will provide an overview of policies, processes and protocols organizations can adopt. While workplace violence incidents may often seem unforeseeable, there are steps to take to mitigate this threat.

According to the CDC, as much as 25 percent of the U.S. population will experience a food-borne illness each year. A virus often contracted on cruise ships accounts for two-thirds of food poisoning cases. The recent peanut-related salmonella outbreak caused more than 600 illnesses and has been linked to nine deaths.

The number of reported cyber attacks on U.S. government computers and networks increased by more than 40 percent last year. Most attacks were attempts to gain control of government systems or obtain sensitive information. President Obama last week ordered a thorough view of U.S. cyber security to protect the government's IT systems from security and economic threats.

Peanut Corporation of America sought bankruptcy protection last week after a salmonella outbreak was traced to one of its plants. The outbreak has led to one of the biggest product recalls in U.S. history. The salmonella outbreak has sickened 600 people.

A congressional subcommittee this week lambasted officials of the Peanut Corp., whose Blakely, Ga., plant has been identified by the FDA as the source of the recent peanut butter salmonella outbreak that has killed nine people and sickened 600 more nationwide. The company officials refused to answer the subcommittee's questions, repeatedly invoking Fifth Amendment rights.

The Virginia Tech shootings records -- many of which will be opened to the public this month under the state's legal settlement with families and victims -- show the extent to which Seung-Hui Cho and his problems were known on campus, a Richmond Times-Dispatch review of the documents has found.

The Virginia Tech shootings records -- many of which will be opened to the public this month under the state's legal settlement with families and victims -- show the extent to which Seung-Hui Cho and his problems were known on campus, a Richmond Times-Dispatch review of the documents has found.

States have made progress in some areas of pandemic preparation, but lag behind in planning for the ensuing months of disruption, a recent government report said. The U.S. Health and Human Services department study gave states good marks in maintaining a food and antiviral drug stockpile, but planning in areas such as transportation and “surge capacity’’ -- the ability of a hospital to care for a sudden influx of sick or injured patients – had a long way to go. Many states were still thinking i

A nationwide report revealed the percentage of deep tissue staph infections in the head and neck caused by MRSA had risen from 12 to 28 percent from 2001 to 2006. More than 46 percent of these pediatric MRSA infections, including certain ear and sinus infections, were resistant to the antibiotic clindamycin, one of the non-penicillin drugs doctors often rely on to treat community-acquired MRSA.

A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) examined the devastation that would occur should a solar storm hit the earth. The social, economic and political impacts could be catastrophic. Emergency services would be strained and command and control might be lost. Recovery would take months.

An annual report by Control Risk predicts the economic crisis will have a significant effect on security worldwide. Security risks include workplace violence, kidnapping and fraudulent activity. Businesses can navigate these risks if informed of their exposures and properly prepared.

Progress made in disaster preparedness since 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina is at risk because of the economic crisis and budget cuts, according to a recent report by Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "The 25 percent cut in federal support to protect Americans from diseases, disasters, and bioterrorism is already hurting state response capabilities. The cuts to state budgets in the next few years could lead to a disaster for the nation's disaster preparedness,’’ sa

Terrorism HEADLINE: Analysts Say It Will Be Difficult to Shield Luxury Hotels From Terrorist Attacks SUMMARY: Security experts warn that hotels are marked as soft targets for terrorists, as apparent in the attacks in Mumbai. Experts say that little can be done to prevent the attacks of trained gunmen. Lack of security checkpoints, long hallways and large, high atriums make hotels especially vulnerable. STORY LINK: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/world/asia/01hotel.html  ...

Corporate leadership has a responsibility to prevent, minimize and mitigate the effects of a catastrophe, such as a terrorist attack. It is essential to be prepared and train employees to respond to a disaster. The terrorists sought out high-profile targets that had less security personnel and countermeasures.

A blue-ribbon panel told Congress that terrorists are likely to use a weapon of mass destruction – most likely biological -- somewhere in the world in the next five years. “The consequences of a biological attack … would be 9/11 times 10 or a hundred in terms of the number of people who would be killed," former Sen. Bob Graham said. The report recommends a range of measures, including increased security and awareness at biological research labs and strengthening international treaties.

A recent survey indicates that Americans are concerned that the current economic crisis could result in an increase in crime. It is more important than ever to ensure adequate resources are allocated to security and prevention. Background checks should be conducted on all employees in the workplace and home alike.

While insurance ranks among the industries best prepared to handle business interruptions, carriers need to constantly adapt disaster recovery plans and technology to changing conditions.

According to a recent study by the University of Kansas, states are slow to recognize the importance of the Internet as an effective means of communication during an emergency. It is recommended that emergency planners place an emphasis on reaching the public through the Internet equal to that of television and radio.