The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that Elisabeth Hagen plans to leave her position as under secretary for food safety in mid-December. In her statement, Hagen said that she will be entering the private sector and she thanked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and “the dedicated public servants of [the Food Safety and Inspection Service].” “It has been an ambitious three years,” she said. “USDA and FSIS have successfully made preventing foodborne illness a real priority. The steps we have taken, from modernizing the agency, strengthening oversight of industry and increasing outreach to consumers has led to safer food and fewer foodborne illnesses.” In his statement, Secretary Vilsack said that Hagen’s “hard work and sound leadership” has led to a food supply that is “safer today than ever before,” referencing the adoption of a zero-tolerance policy for additional strains of E. coli in beef and new standards to protect Americans from Salmonella and Campylobacter in poultry.