Source:  Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 6/18/09

Consumer Federation of America will hold a half-day symposium June 25 from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. to discuss recent changes in USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service and what those changes mean for food safety. The panel will convene at 1400 16th St., NW, Washington, D.C., in the building's first-floor conference room.

The panel will include Dan Engeljohn, deputy assistant administrator, FSIS's Office of Policy, Program & Employee Development; Mark Dopp, senor vice president for regulatory affairs, American Meat Institute; Barbara Kowalcyk, director of food safety, Center for Foodborne Illness, Research & Prevention; and Bob Reinhard, director of food safety, Sara Lee Corp.

According to CFA, FSIS has been making changes to its regulatory policies and data-collection capacity that could change how the agency conducts inspection activities.

"Some of these changes have been in response to positive findings for pathogens or investigations following foodborne illness outbreaks, while others have been in response to Congressional mandates," CFA said in a press release. "However, there has been little formal discussion on the merits and shortcomings of these recent FSIS actions."

More information is available at events.SignUp4.com/FSISMeeting".

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