Source: Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 5/4/18



President Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Mindy Brashears to be USDA’s Under Secretary for Food Safety. 
Brashears would be the first person to assume the nation’s top food safety post since her predecessor, Elizabeth Hagen, left the job in December 2013 under the Obama administration. 

“Food safety is at the core of USDA’s mission, because it directly affects the health and well-being of millions of Americans every day. President Trump has made an excellent choice in Dr. Mindy Brashears, and I am excited to have her join the team,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a news release. “Dr. Brashears has spent decades finding ways to improve food safety standards through innovation, invention, and leadership on research missions across the globe. I look forward to her bringing that wealth of expertise and track record of results here to USDA.”

Brashears is a food safety and public health professor at Texas Tech University, where she also works as director of the school’s International Center for Food Center for Food Industry Excellence. Her research program focuses on improving food safety standards to make an impact on public health. Her highly acclaimed work evaluates interventions in pre- and post-harvest environments and on the emergence of antimicrobial drug resistance in animal feeding systems. These efforts have resulted in commercialization of a pre-harvest feed additive that can reduce E. coli and Salmonella in cattle.

She also leads international research teams to Mexico, Central and South America to improve food safety and security and to set up sustainable agriculture systems in impoverished areas. She is past-Chair of the National Alliance for Food Safety and Security and of the USDA multi-state research group.

Perdue noted that USDA is awaiting confirmation of other “qualified people” to fill key roles at the agency. He urged Senate to consider the agency’s nominations as quickly as possible.

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