Al Almanza, administrator of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was named the USDA’s Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety on Monday, according to the meat industry trade publication Meatingplace.
Almanza will share the title of Deputy Under Secretary with Brian Ronholm, who has been serving as Acting Under Secretary since December 2013, when Elisabeth Hagen stepped down from the Under Secretary position. The office of Under Secretary remains vacant. It is unclear if Almanza’s promotion to Deputy Under Secretary will lead to any changes to that office. According to Meatingplace, Almanza said the following in an email to colleagues at USDA: “Of course, I am honored to accept this position. After serving as the FSIS Administrator for more than seven years, and working at FSIS for over 36 years, I understand the responsibility that comes with this position, and I have much respect for those who have served in that role.”
