New research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveals that consumers may not know how to safely cook frozen foods, which can put families at risk of getting foodborne illness in their homes.
“As consumers are preparing more meals at home, it is important that these cooks are practicing
Continue Reading Frozen doesn’t mean thaw and eat; dangers lurk in the freezer
The International Association for Food Protection 2020, A Virtual Annual Meeting will feature a “U.S. Regulatory Update on Food Safety,” from Frank Yiannas, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response and Mindy Brashears, Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety of the USDA.
From 9 to 10 a.m. EDT on
Continue Reading U.S. regulatory update on food safety to be featured in IAFP virtual meeting
Editor’s note: Two of USDA’s top administrators have issued this statement to industry.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is rising to meet the challenges associated with the new coronavirus disease, Covid-19. As leaders of USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Agricultural Marketing
Continue Reading USDA leaders call for industry cooperation amidst ‘uncertain times’
USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is getting a new top administrative officer. Paul Kiecker, who joined the agency in 1988 as a food inspector, is succeeding Carmen Rottenberg as FSIS Administrator.
Kiecker, who’s been deputy administrator since 2018, is the rare civil servant who moves from an
Continue Reading Letter From The Editor: Brashears confirmation vote long overdue
The Hill, a Washington-based news publication, recently published a story about the New Swine Slaughter Inspection System (NSIS), an outgrowth of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) HACCP-Based Inspection Model Project (HIMP) with these warnings: “A new rule . . . would reduce
Continue Reading What’s behind the New Swine Slaughter Inspection System?
Editor’s note: Guest opinions columns and editorials or what we call “op-eds” are an important part of Food Safety News. Since we got our start more than a decade ago, we’ve published hundreds of such submissions. Many have been penned by the most influential people in food safety. We look
Continue Reading Food safety voices heard during 2019
I know September is almost over because Christmas merchandise is beginning to nudge its way into retail spaces. But just because Food Safety Education Month is nearing its end, it doesn’t mean the educating is finished.
Earlier this month I spoke with USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Mindy
Continue Reading Beach Beat: What to remember from September
USDA’s Mindy Brashears submitted this column to Food Safety News this week.
In the world of food safety, 1993 was a watershed moment. Early that year, hundreds of people became ill and four children died from an E. coli outbreak linked to fast food burgers. At the time, I
Continue Reading Why we are modernizing swine slaughter inspection
American Agriculture is letting the U.S. Senate know that 68 months is long enough to go without a USDA under secretary for food safety.
Ten of the nation’s largest and most influential agricultural organizations have written the Senate’s leadership, calling for an immediate vote to confirm Mindy Brashears as USDA’s
Continue Reading Ag groups tell Senate it is time to confirm Mindy Brashears as Under Secretary for Food Safety
About a decade ago, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service deployed a diverse task force to look at risk-based inspection.
The first meeting was not very productive. Dr. Richard Raymond, then the undersecretary for food safety, was not expecting much better for the second session. Then Joe Harris began
Continue Reading Letter From The Editor: A full plate for the Southwest Meat Association
