The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) this week announced the re-chartering of the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) and named who exactly will be serving on the advisory committee. The committee provides recommendations to both Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Secretary of Health Kathleen Sebelius, who runs Health and Human Services (HHS), the department that oversees the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. NACMCF will focus on the microbiological criteria by which the safety and wholesomeness of food can be assessed. “NACMCF’s work provides FSIS and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with a valuable resource for obtaining external expert advice on scientific and technical food safety issues for our nation’s food safety programs,” said FSIS Administrator Al Almanza. “Re-chartering this committee benefits the public interest and fulfills statutory responsibilities.” As FSIS put it: “The committee membership consists of scientists from academia, industry, other organizations, and federal and state government as well as one individual affiliated with a consumer group, who is serving in a representational capacity. NACMCF members are appointed by the USDA Secretary in consultation with the Secretary of HHS with advice on membership from the Department of Commerce’s National Marine Fisheries Service, the Department of Defense’s Defense Logistics Agency, and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).” NACMCF members serve a two-year renewable term. Here is a list of those currently on the panel: Dr. Robyn Atkinson Utah Department of Health Unified State Laboratories Taylorsville, UT Dr. Arun Bhunia Purdue University West Lafayette, IN Dr. Wafa Birbari The Hillshire Brands Company Chicago, IL LTC Robert Dole, VC The U. S. Department of Defense Public Health Command Region – South Fort Sam Houston, TX Dr. David Gombas United Fresh Produce Association Washington, DC Dr. Larry Goodridge Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO Ms. Susan Grooters Center for Science in the Public Interest Washington, DC Dr. Margaret Hardin Institute for Environmental Health & Consulting Group Navasota, TX Dr. Scott Hood General Mills Golden Valley, MN Dr. Dallas Hoover University of Delaware Newark, DE Dr. Steven Ingham Wisconsin Department of Agriculture Madison, WI Dr. Jeffery Kornacki Kornacki Microbiology Solutions, Inc. Madison, WI Dr. Robert LaBudde Least Cost Formulations, Ltd. Virginia Beach, VA Dr. Richard Linton North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC Dr. Guy Loneragan Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX Dr. Evelyn Mbandi U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service Washington, DC Dr. Peter Muriana Oklahoma State University Stillwater, OK Dr. Nandini Natrajan Keystone Foods LLC West Conshohocken, PA Dr. Alison O’Brien Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Bethesda, MD Dr. Wilfredo Ocasio The National Food Laboratory, LLC Livermore, CA Dr. Mickey Parish U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration/CFSAN College Park, MD Dr. Salina Parveen University of Maryland Eastern Shore Princess Anne, MD Dr. Ruth Petran Ecolab, Inc. Eagan, MN Dr. Lance Price Translational Genomics Research Institute Flagstaff, AZ Dr. Jennifer Quinlan Drexel University Philadelphia, PA Ms. Angela Ruple U.S. Department of Commerce National Seafood Inspection Laboratory Pascagoula, MS Dr. Juliana Ruzante The Pew Charitable Trusts Washington, DC Dr. Stacey Schultz-Cherry St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Memphis, TN Dr. Robert Seward Seward Global Consulting Washington, DC Dr. Robert Tauxe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Atlanta, GA The NACMCF meets approximately twice annually, while subcommittees meet more often as necessary. More information on the advisory committee can be found here.