A functional food defense plan will help to prevent which of the following?

• A. Unintentional contamination
• B. Labeling errors
• C. Intentional product contamination
• D. Natural decay

Answer: (C)

A functional food defense plan is built to guard against deliberate acts that could contaminate a product. Its primary purpose is to prevent intentional product contamination by malicious actors, such as tampering or sabotage, through measures like restricted access, surveillance, chain-of-custody, tamper-evident packaging, and supplier verification.

This differs from efforts aimed at unintentional contamination, which are addressed by general food safety and process controls; labeling errors, which are handled by labeling verification and regulatory checks; and natural decay, which is managed through storage, temperature control, and shelf-life management. The defense plan specifically targets security against intentional interference, making that option the best fit.