Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Health Law Blogs -> Food Safety News

Health Law

: Food Safety News

Meat & Poultry Inspection Panel Members Named

By Dan Flynn and Suzanna Schreck

A reestablished charter and 2010-2012 membership for the National Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection was announced Thursday by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

The food safety advisory group is attached to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS).

"The diverse perspectives that [National Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection] members bring to FSIS is invaluable to our mission and success in ensuring the safety and wholesomeness of the foods we eat," said Vilsack. "I am firmly committed to aggressively decreasing the incidence of foodborne illnesses and with the support of these individuals, I am confident that we will be able to protect the American people's food supply."

The committee was established in 1971.  It is charged with advising the Secretary of Agriculture though USDA's Under Secretary for Food Safety.

The panel contributes to USDA regulatory policy development.

Like past panels, the 20-member group appointed by Vilsack includes a mix of interests from the regulatory, academic, industry, and consumer communities.  Eight appointees (in bold) are re-appointments.  The National Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection members are:

Patricia K. Buck
Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention
Grove City, PA

Dr. Fur-Chi Chen
Tennessee State University
Nashville, TN

Brian R. Covington
Keystone Foods LLC
West Conshohocken, PA

Dr. Catherine N. Cutter
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA

Nancy J. Donley
Safe Tables Our Priority
Chicago, IL

Veneranda Gapud
Private individual
Snellville, GA

Dr. Craig Henry
Deloitte & Touche LLP
Baltimore, MD

Dr. Cheryl D. Jones
Morehouse School of Medicine
Atlanta, GA

Dr. Heidi Kassenborg
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
St. Paul, MN

Sarah A. Klein
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Washington, DC

Dr. Shelton E. Murinda
California State Polytechnic University
Pomona, CA

Dr. Edna Negrón
University of Puerto Rico
Mayaguez, PR

Robert G. Reinhard
Sara Lee Corporation
Downers Grove, IL

Dr. Craig E. Shultz
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
Harrisburg, PA

Dr. Stanley A. Stromberg
Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry
Oklahoma City, OK

Dr. John D. Tilden
Michigan Department of Agriculture
Lansing, MI

Carol L. Tucker-Foreman
Consumer Federation of America
Chevy Chase, MD

Steve E. Warshawer
Mesa Top Farm
Sante Fe, NM

Dr. J. Byron Williams
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, MS

Leonard W. Winchester
Public Health - Seattle & King County
Bellevue, WA

Full post as published by Food Safety News on July 16, 2010 (boomark / email).