With the increase in security and awareness after the Sept. 11 attacks, there is little risk of a terrorist contaminating the national food supply, sources at Penn State said.

"People should be concerned and be careful, I don't think people should be frightened," said David Wolfgang, director of field investigations in the department of veterinary science. "I don't think we need to run around in space suits just yet."

In an effort to reduce the risk of someone poisoning the food supply, farmers and food production workers are implementing inspection measures that involve checking food in various stages of processing.

"It won't be zero risk, but by far, the vast majority will be safe," Wolfgang said.

Although a terrorist could conceivably contaminate food after it has been packaged, it is unlikely they would be unable to contaminate a large enough quantity to destroy the agricultural industry, Wolfgang said.

"They could make it ugly for awhile," he said. "But I don't think a small (terrorist) cell could wreck us."

Even if an amount of food was successfully contaminated, experts feel it is unlikely it would have a serious impact.

"It's not likely to have a far reaching effect because there are so many processors and so many packing houses and that would be pretty difficult," Luke LaBorde, assistant professor of food science said.

There are times in the production process before food is packaged that need more security attention.

"There are points in the process where it is easier and harder to spread the disease," Wolfgang said. "Primarily, what we've been focusing on is these critical control points.

With a threat of contamination from an outside source more prevalent, officials are making an extra effort to inspect food at specific points along its journey from the barnyard to the supermarket shelf.

"With our current awareness, I don't think it would be as bad as a year ago," Wolfgang said.

The inspection process now goes all the way back to the farm where the crops are grown and the animals are raised.

"The better we can make it at the farm, the better it will be when it reaches the carton or the box," Wolfgang said.

The idea of checking food for dangerous bacteria and contaminants at various stages of production was developed years ago to ensure food used in the space program was contaminant free and would not make the astronauts sick.

"This is not terribly new ground to plow," Wolfgang said.

The same inspection process is used to ensure a terrorist could not contaminate a large quantity of crops, he said.

"The best way to prevent such a thing is just to know your employees and establish long term relationships with them and have a good product trace back," LaBorde said.

In the event that contaminated food was discovered, it would be possible to trace it back to where it was processed.

Students at Penn State have expressed their concerns about the possibility of food contamination by terrorists.

"It's scary to think that people would stoop to that level," said Brooke Kenna (sophomore-public relations and Spanish). "It's a scary thought that this could be happening here."

Food that is imported from foreign countries that do not share the United State's same quality standards is especially vulnerable, Wolfgang said.

"When people buy strawberries in mid-January, they're not raised in Centre Hall," Wolfgang said.