Poultry, antibiotics, Ionophores and activities with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency were among the subjects of April meetings between Al Almanza, administrator of USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and people outside the federal government.

Almanza’s public calendar for April included five meetings, four before Secretary of Agriculture Sonny
Continue Reading New leadership at USDA, FDA might increase outside meetings

Al Almanza and Carmen Rottenberg are keeping the coffee hot at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) but they are not getting many takers during this transition in government period.

officecoffeestation_406x250Almanza, the acting deputy undersecretary for USDA’s food safety office who also doubles as FSIS
Continue Reading Not a lot of outsider demand for meetings with “acting” agency heads

The Meat and Poultry Hotline and the  “Ask Karen” online chat service have gone to expanded hours, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).   Both consumer lines are for people who need immediate and accurate food handling and preparation advice.

The expanded hours are
Continue Reading FSIS steps up hotline and online chat services to improve food safety

brazilfederalpolice_406x250None of the slaughter or processing facilities targeted by the Federal Police in Brazil have shipped meat products to the United States, according to USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

Nevertheless, FSIS immediately instituted additional pathogen testing of all shipments of raw and ready-to-eat beef products from Brazil once
Continue Reading USDA beefs up scrutiny of Brazilian beef amid bribery scandal

2017calendar_406x250The federal government’s transition month of January saw only a handful of meetings involving top food safety officials and members of the public.

Both the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration report on meetings between their top officials and people outside the government.
Continue Reading January saw few outside meetings for top food safety officials

FSIS-Logo_406x250When his  appointment as Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety comes to an end on Jan. 20, 2017, Al Almanza, who never gave up his  career employee status, will just switch back to being Administrator of USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Since Almanza  was named Deputy Under Secretary,
Continue Reading Almanza ends his deputy undersecretary appointment with plenty of meetings