Mindy M. Brashears, Ph.D., the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, will be the featured keynote speaker at the American Meat Science Association’s (AMSA) 72^nd Reciprocal Meat Conference (RMC) on Wednesday, June 26 in Loveland, Colo. The AMSA 2019 RMC is co-hosted by Colorado State University and JBS USA Food Company. This keynote presentation, sponsored by JBS USA Food Company, is entitled “Science Reveals the Best Policy.”

The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has a mission to protect public health by ensuring the safety of meat, poultry and processed egg products. The agency has also made it a priority to use science to make data-driven decisions for policies and regulations that affect the U.S. food supply.

Dr. Brashears comes to USDA from Texas Tech University where she was a Professor of Food Safety and Public Health and the Director of the International Center for Food Industry Excellence. Dr. Brashears’ research program focused on improving food safety standards to make an impact on public health. Her work evaluated interventions in pre- and post-harvest environments and on the emergence of antimicrobial drug resistance in animal feeding systems. Dr. Brashears also led international research teams of students and faculty to Mexico, Central and South America to improve food safety and security in these sectors and to set up sustainable agriculture systems in impoverished areas. She taught courses in food microbiology and food safety and offered industry training opportunities in Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), food sanitation, recalls and food security.

Dr. Brashears has been nominated to be the USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety. She is a past-Chair of the National Alliance for Food Safety and Security and of the USDA multi-state research group. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and has received numerous awards including the International Association for Food Protection Laboratorian Award, the AMSA Distinguished Research Award, the AMSA Distinguished Extension-Industry Service Award and was listed in the National Provisioner’s Top 25 Future Icons in the Beef Industry. She has an extensive publication record in peer-reviewed journals and has been invited to give keynote addresses  at national and international conferences on the topics of her research. Her research has resulted in more than 20 patents/patents pending for her innovative approach to improving food safety in the food supply.

Under Dr. Brashears’ leadership, FSIS will continue its mission of protecting the public’s health through the implementation of its three strategic goals: Prevent Foodborne Illness and Protect Public Health; Modernize Inspection Systems, Policies, and the Use of Scientific Approaches; and Achieve Operational Excellence. 

The AMSA 72^nd RMC will be held June 23-26, 2019 at the Embassy Suites in Loveland, Colo. For more information regarding the AMSA 72^nd RMC please visit: http://www.meatscience.org/rmc or contact Deidrea Mabry 1-800-517-AMSA ext. 12.

Source: AMSA